Health Evaluation of High School Athletes

In brief: This study examined the strategies used in Washington to evaluate high school athletes in interscholastic competition. Seventy-one percent of the responding schools used a health history questionnaire, and all schools gave a preparticipation physical examination. Several weaknesses were noted: Not all students complete a history form, many history forms do not include items pertaining to sports, and completed histories and examination forms are not available at the time of injury and are often evaluated by people who are not competent to judge the significance of the response.