1 of 45

Utilizing Technology to Improve Accessibility to Emergency Action Plans

Brian Bobier, DAT, LAT, ATC

Megan Bolin, M.S., LAT, ATC

Ashton Burkhead

University of Central Oklahoma

2 of 45

Disclosures

  • The presenters have no financial disclosures or conflicts of interest.

3 of 45

Objectives

  • To improve communication among athletic trainers and stakeholders regarding emergency action plans for all venues.
  • Utilizing technology to improve access to emergency action plans.
  • Ensuring that schools and organizations address organizational needs and are aligned with BOC domains and state laws/regulations regarding emergency action plans.

4 of 45

5 of 45

Emergency Action Plans (EAP)

  • EAP is a written document detailing the preparations and on-site emergency response of health care professionals and other stakeholders to medical emergencies in the prehospital setting. (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
  • Developed to respond to any type of catastrophic injury and should not be injury or illness specific. (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
  • Focus on optimizing patient outcomes, EAP development, EAP response, and EAP implementation. (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
  • Include stakeholders other than health care team members to develop and execute the EAP. (Scarneo-Miller, et al)

6 of 45

Operational Terminology

    • Catastrophic sport-related injury
    • Health care professionals
    • Lay responders
    • Team personnel
    • Interdisciplinary health care team
    • Local emergency responders
    • Safety considerations
    • Pre-event medical meeting
    • Primary and secondary liaisons

7 of 45

Development and Implementation of the EAP

    • Optimizing Patient Outcomes (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
    • Development (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
    • Implementation (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
    • Response (Scarneo-Miller, et al)

8 of 45

Benefits of the EAP (Korey Stringer Institute)

  • Risk management strategy
  • Readily prepared for emergency situations
  • Ensures that appropriate care is provided in a timely manner
  • Decrease chance of legal action taking place
  • Protects liability of the AT and school administration
  • Leads to a more effective emergency response

9 of 45

State Laws

  • OK Senate Bill 1921: Cardiac Emergency Response Plans (CERPs)
  • OK Senate Bill 1198: Riley Boatwright Act

10 of 45

11 of 45

Perceived Facilitators

  • Access to a health care professional (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
  • Support from administration (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
  • Collaborating with others who implement an EAP (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
  • Mandates from the state athletics association (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
  • State laws (Scarneo-Miller, et al)

12 of 45

Perceived Barriers

  • Financial limitations (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
  • Lack of education and/or information about EAPs (Scarneo-Miller, et al)
  • Socioecological framework and education of stakeholders (Scarneo-Miller, et al)

13 of 45

Perceived Barriers: Personal Experience

​

  • Communication from host facility.
  • Location of the EAP and emergency equipment that is available.
  • Accessibility of the EAP.
  • Ability to review the EAPs prior to traveling to a new site.
  • Not venue specific.
  • Lack of a pre-event meeting with stakeholders.

14 of 45

Importance of the EAP

  • Provides a plan of action for all stakeholders to optimize patient outcomes.
  • Prepares all stakeholders to respond to emergency situations if the AT or other HCP is not present.
  • Professional responsibility as described in Domain III of the BOC practice analysis 8th edition.

​

15 of 45

What is Digital Accessibility?

  • “The practice of designing digital systems and services in a manner that makes them accessible to all individuals, including those with disabilities including visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments.” (Chemnad and Othman, 2024)

​

16 of 45

Why is it Important?

  • In 2022, approximately 28.7% of adults in the U.S. reported having a disability (CDC, 2025).
  • Digitalization of healthcare provides opportunities for increased engagement and innovative delivery (Winkelmann et al., 2024).

​

17 of 45

International Standards of Accessibility

  • Using the POUR Principles
    • Perceivable
      • An individual can access the content through at least one of their senses.
    • Operable
      • An individual can interact with the content, regardless of interactive element.
    • Understandable
      • The meaning of the content can be understood; it should be consistent and predictable.
    • Robust
      • Any device or assistive technology should be able to access the digital content.

​

​

(UC Berkely-What is digital accessibility, 2025)

18 of 45

Common Examples Related to POUR

  • Perceivable:
    • Text alternatives
    • Color Contrast
    • Captions
  • Operable:
    • Keyboard accessible- headers, bullets/numbering
    • Easy to find content
  • Understandable
    • Language is clear and concise.
    • The text can be read aloud, and it is easy to understand.
    • Links work as predicted
  • Robust
    • Compatible with current and future use tools such as screen readers or browsers.

​

(Zahra SA, ed., 2024)

19 of 45

Ways to Check for Accessibility

Most software used to create digital content will have an accessibility tool built in.

    • Microsoft Office
      • Accessibility Checker
    • Google
      • Some built-in capabilities
    • Canva
      • Design Accessibility
    • Adobe Acrobat Pro
      • Prepare for Accessibility then Check for Accessibility (Tools menu)
    • Learning Management Systems
      • Ally, Canvas built-in
    • Website Development
      • WAVE-Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
    • Manual Testing
      • Such as using keyboard only commands, screen readers, content review

20 of 45

Finding the Accessibility Tool

Microsoft Office

  • Tools
    • Accessibility Assistant will open on right side of document.
      • Will automatically review the following:
        • Color and Contrast
        • Media and Illustrations
        • Tables
        • Document Structure
        • Document Access

​

Google Chrome

  • Limited built-in capabilities.
    • Can turn on Screen Reader support and/or braille support (third-party)
    • Manual add “Alt Text”
    • Can add Apps via
      • Extensions -> Add-Ons
        • Will take you to Google Workspace Marketplace
          • Search Accessibility Checker

​

21 of 45

Microsoft Word Example- Before

22 of 45

Microsoft Word Example- After

23 of 45

Transforming your EAP

How to Create a QR Code

​

24 of 45

Finding your Emergency Action Plan

Microsoft Word 

  • Log into your OneDrive account 
  • Find EAP file in OneDrive 
  • Select the file by clicking once (do not open document) 

Google Docs

  • Log into your Google Drive account 
  • Find EAP file in Google Docs
  • Select the file by clicking once (do not open document)

25 of 45

Setting Shareable Link Permissions – Step 1

Microsoft Word 

  • Click on the Share button 

Google Docs

  • Click on the 3 vertical dots in the top right corner of the selected file

26 of 45

Setting Shareable Link Permissions – Step 2

Microsoft Word 

  • Click on the gear icon located in the bottom right side of the pop-up screen  

Google Docs

  • Click the "Share" Button 

27 of 45

Setting Shareable Link Permissions – Step 3

Microsoft Word 

  • Adjust sharing permissions by clicking on the "Anyone" option.

Google Docs

  • Adjust sharing permissions by clicking on this drop-down box 

28 of 45

Setting Shareable Link Permissions – Step 4

Microsoft Word 

  • Click the "Apply" button to save permissions

Google Docs

  • Choose the "Anyone with the link" button 

29 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 1

Microsoft Word 

  • Click the "Copy Link" button

Google Docs

  • Click the "Copy Link" button 

30 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Steps 2-5

  • Open a new tab 
  • Type in the search bar "Canva" 
  • Click on "Canva: Visual Suite for Everyone" link 

​

​

​

  • Create a free Canva account

​

31 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 6

  • Navigate to the Canva Homepage by clicking the "Home" button on the left hand side 

​

32 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 7

  • Click on the green "Whiteboard" icon (this will open the Whiteboard design page)

​

33 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 8

  • Click on the "Apps" icon towards the bottom left side of the screen

​

34 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 9

  • Click on the Search Bar and type in "QR Code"

​

35 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 10

  • Click on this icon

​

36 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 11

  • Click on "Enter URL" and paste link by either right clicking and selecting the paste option or by holding down CTRL + V on your keyboard

​

37 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 12

  • Click the "Generate Code" button 

​

38 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 13

  • Click on the QR Code and drag one of the four corners to enlarge the QR Code to a height and width of 600

​

39 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 14

  • To download and share your new QR Code, click the "Share" button in the top right hand corner of the whiteboard design page

​

40 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 15

  • Click the download button at the bottom left of the pop-up screen 

​

41 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 16

  • Change the format from PNG to JPG by clicking the drop-down box 

​

42 of 45

Transforming Shareable Link into a QR Code – Step 17

  • Click the "Download" button at the bottom of the pop-up screen

​

43 of 45

Integrating QR Codes

  • Now you will be able to use this QR Code to make your EAP more accessible in case of an emergent situation
  • Some ideas on where to place your QR code include:
    • In baseball/softball dugouts
    • By the AED 
    • On the sidelines
    • On your medical timeout sheet 

44 of 45

Medical Timeout Template

​

​

45 of 45

References

  1. Scarneo-Miller SE, Hosokawa Y, Drezner JA, et al. National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Emergency action plan development and implementation in sport. J Athl Train. 2024;59(6):570-583.
  2. Freeman M. Emergency action plans. Korey Stringer Institute. April 24, 2024. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://koreystringer.institute.uconn.edu/eap/.
  3. Scarneo-Miller SE, DiStefano LJ, Mazerolle Singe S, et al. Emergency action plans in secondary schools: barriers, facilitators, and social determinants affecting implementation. 2020;55(1):80-87.
  4. Chemnad K, Othman A. Digital accessibility in the era of artificial intelligence-bibliometric analysis and systematic review. Front Artif Intell. 2024;7:1349668. Published 2024 Feb 16. doi:10.3389/frai.2024.1349668
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Division of Human Development and Disability. Disability and Health Data System (DHDS) Data [online]. [accessed May 21, 2025]. URL: https://dhds.cdc.gov
  6. Winkelmann ZK, Games KE, Annaccone AR, et al. Athletic Training Educators’ Perceptions and Integration of Digital Health. Athletic Training Education Journal. 1 October 2024; 19 (4): 245–255. doi: https://doi.org/10.4085/1947-380X-24-043
  7. What is Digital Accessibility? What is digital accessibility? | Digital Accessibility. UC Berkeley. Accessed May 21, 2025. https://dap.berkeley.edu/web-a11y-basics/what-digital-accessibility. 
  8. Zahra SA, ed. Accessibility principles. Accessibility Principles. July 15, 2024. Accessed May 21, 2025. https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-principles/. 

​

​