1. Facilitators and Barriers to Implementing an Evidence- based National Massage Therapy Program for Elite Paracycling Athletes Ann Blair Kennedy, LMT, DrPH and Jennifer L. Trilk, PhD APHA Annual Meeting November, 2, 2015 Session 3048.0 Roundtable discussion This study was funded by the American Massage Therapy Association

2. Background  Evidence for massage therapy benefits for able-bodied athletes  No evidence for massage therapy benefits for disabled athletes  Team Roger C. Peace has paracycling athletes around the country  Program creation paper published* Purpose: To investigate the facilitators and barriers to implementing an evidence-based massage therapy program with a team of decentralized athletes. *Kennedy AB, Trilk JL. A Standardized, Evidence-Based Massage Therapy Program for Decentralized Elite Paracyclists: Creating the Model. Int J Ther Massage Bodyw. 2015;8(3):3-9.

3. Methods  Identified athletes with established therapists  National locator service used to identify massage therapists with 5 years of experience and sports massage listed as a modality  Contacted potential massage therapists by telephone  Therapists trained in study protocols  Therapists and athletes work together to schedule sessions  Research staff disseminate program forms via REDCap

4. Updated Results Therapist Recruitment  35 therapists contacted  16 did not return phone calls  2 did not have accessible spaces  2 not interested in research or taking notes  3 could not accommodate study schedule  2 not in athlete area  10 therapists joined the program  Therapist Private Facebook page Program implementation  7 Web conferences and 1 in-person training for therapists  Scheduling difficulties  Transportation problems  Tech issues

5. Discussion  Facilitators  Excited athletes  Enthusiastic and dedicated therapists who are flexible, adaptive, and creative  Dedicated research team  Committed coaching staff  Social media interaction for therapists  Athlete social support systems  Barriers  Lack of communication  Accessibility  Lack of desire to participate in research  Lack of desire to keep therapist notes  Athlete’s health conditions/lack of transportation  Busy athlete schedules  Athletes changing living location  Technical issues

6. Current Project Status  Changes in team – 8 of 10 athletes are currently participating in program  As of September 28 th, a total of 78 massages had been given  Continued monitoring of program and recruiting and training therapists as needed Future Implications  Therapists need more education on research and documentation  Consideration of health conditions and transportation issues  Implementation monitoring is essential