Challenges confronted by pediatricians in managing pediatric athletes: awareness on pediatric sports medicine

Background In our country, a considerable number of athletes are under the age of 18, and concerns regarding their physical, psychosocial, and athletic development are increasingly prominent. In the US, Pediatric Sports Medicine (PSM) , which has yet to be established in Turkey and many European cou...

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Main Authors: Abdullah Akkuş, Hüseyin Aslan, Nefise Betül Ercan, Betül Cığal, Mehtap Yücel, Ahmet Osman Kılıç, Abdullah Yazar, Fatih Akın
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Annals of Medicine
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2025.2537919
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author Abdullah Akkuş
Hüseyin Aslan
Nefise Betül Ercan
Betül Cığal
Mehtap Yücel
Ahmet Osman Kılıç
Abdullah Yazar
Fatih Akın
author_facet Abdullah Akkuş
Hüseyin Aslan
Nefise Betül Ercan
Betül Cığal
Mehtap Yücel
Ahmet Osman Kılıç
Abdullah Yazar
Fatih Akın
author_sort Abdullah Akkuş
collection DOAJ
description Background In our country, a considerable number of athletes are under the age of 18, and concerns regarding their physical, psychosocial, and athletic development are increasingly prominent. In the US, Pediatric Sports Medicine (PSM) , which has yet to be established in Turkey and many European countries, deals with the care and monitoring of young athletes. This study aimed to explore the challenges pediatricians face during preparticipation evaluation (PPE) of young athletes, the difficulties encountered in managing this specific population, and their perspectives on how the establishment of a PSM division could contribute, particularly in addressing legal responsibilities.Materials and methods An online questionnaire was comprised of 12 questions, which addressed participants’ personal and professional features, as well as which specialties pediatric athletes were mostly referred, types of sports of pediatric athletes, challenges experienced with the athlete and his/her parents during PPE, their awareness on PSM fellowship abroad, and their opinions on interests of PSM and establishment of PSM in our country.Results A total of 360 pediatricians were recruited. Of the participants, 89.7% reported challenges with parents due to requesting immediate issuance of reports and 52.2% due to requesting reports without the child being present. Of the participants, 69.2% had never heard about PSM. Of the participants, 83.3% stated that establishment of PSM in Turkey would definitely make contribution, and 73.9% stated that PSM should definitely be established.Conclusions Awareness of PSM is low among pediatricians. The establishment of PSM in Turkey is widely supported and considered to be beneficial.
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spelling doaj-art-c8b5f088a41443c99ec78a0fb4b115c42025-08-20T02:41:43ZengTaylor & Francis GroupAnnals of Medicine0785-38901365-20602025-12-0157110.1080/07853890.2025.2537919Challenges confronted by pediatricians in managing pediatric athletes: awareness on pediatric sports medicineAbdullah Akkuş0Hüseyin Aslan1Nefise Betül Ercan2Betül Cığal3Mehtap Yücel4Ahmet Osman Kılıç5Abdullah Yazar6Fatih Akın7Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, TurkeyDepartment of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Selçuk University, Konya, TurkeyDepartment of Family Medicine, Konya Provincial Directorate of Health, Konya, TurkeyDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, TurkeyDepartment of Public Health, Bilecik Public Health Center, Bilecik, TurkeyDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, TurkeyDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, TurkeyDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, TurkeyBackground In our country, a considerable number of athletes are under the age of 18, and concerns regarding their physical, psychosocial, and athletic development are increasingly prominent. In the US, Pediatric Sports Medicine (PSM) , which has yet to be established in Turkey and many European countries, deals with the care and monitoring of young athletes. This study aimed to explore the challenges pediatricians face during preparticipation evaluation (PPE) of young athletes, the difficulties encountered in managing this specific population, and their perspectives on how the establishment of a PSM division could contribute, particularly in addressing legal responsibilities.Materials and methods An online questionnaire was comprised of 12 questions, which addressed participants’ personal and professional features, as well as which specialties pediatric athletes were mostly referred, types of sports of pediatric athletes, challenges experienced with the athlete and his/her parents during PPE, their awareness on PSM fellowship abroad, and their opinions on interests of PSM and establishment of PSM in our country.Results A total of 360 pediatricians were recruited. Of the participants, 89.7% reported challenges with parents due to requesting immediate issuance of reports and 52.2% due to requesting reports without the child being present. Of the participants, 69.2% had never heard about PSM. Of the participants, 83.3% stated that establishment of PSM in Turkey would definitely make contribution, and 73.9% stated that PSM should definitely be established.Conclusions Awareness of PSM is low among pediatricians. The establishment of PSM in Turkey is widely supported and considered to be beneficial.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2025.2537919Pediatric athletepediatric sports medicinepediatricianpreparticipation evaluation
spellingShingle Abdullah Akkuş
Hüseyin Aslan
Nefise Betül Ercan
Betül Cığal
Mehtap Yücel
Ahmet Osman Kılıç
Abdullah Yazar
Fatih Akın
Challenges confronted by pediatricians in managing pediatric athletes: awareness on pediatric sports medicine
Annals of Medicine
Pediatric athlete
pediatric sports medicine
pediatrician
preparticipation evaluation
title Challenges confronted by pediatricians in managing pediatric athletes: awareness on pediatric sports medicine
title_full Challenges confronted by pediatricians in managing pediatric athletes: awareness on pediatric sports medicine
title_fullStr Challenges confronted by pediatricians in managing pediatric athletes: awareness on pediatric sports medicine
title_full_unstemmed Challenges confronted by pediatricians in managing pediatric athletes: awareness on pediatric sports medicine
title_short Challenges confronted by pediatricians in managing pediatric athletes: awareness on pediatric sports medicine
title_sort challenges confronted by pediatricians in managing pediatric athletes awareness on pediatric sports medicine
topic Pediatric athlete
pediatric sports medicine
pediatrician
preparticipation evaluation
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/07853890.2025.2537919
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