Making the Case for Case Management

Due to recent athlete advocacy and changing organizational policy, sport organizations need to implement policies and procedures to meet the mental health needs of athletes. Scholars have suggested that a holistic approach—addressing an athletes’ mental, social, spiritual, and physical health — is the most effective care. However, the sport industry lacks a practical and interprofessional model of care that encapsulates holistic wellness of athletes on an individual and systematic level. To address this gap, this conceptual study reviewed the strengths and limitations of eight different evidence-based healthcare models to understand what an empirically based, athlete-specific holistic model of care could look like. Although all models had their strengths, most take an individualistic approach and do not offer implementation tactics that can be adapted to sport organizations. Taking these critiques, we proposed three best practices that emphasize an athlete-centered, collaborative approach: (1) taking an interdisciplinary approach, (2) hiring case managers, and (3) investing in top-down organizational training