Table 2.
Interview Guide
| Interview Guide |
| 1. Can you describe your current policies for heat acclimatization in high school athletes? |
| 2. Can you please discuss what factors influenced the decision for [New Jersey, Georgia, Arkansas] to implement changes to the existing heat-acclimatization policies? |
| 3. In your opinion, how did [New Jersey, Georgia, Arkansas] decide what new policies or updates to existing policies should include? |
| 4. Please detail the change process. How did the state implement the new heat-acclimatization policies? |
| a. What were the key steps that you followed? |
| b. What resources contributed to the success of the change? |
| c. Were there any resources that were lacking but could have aided in the change process? |
| 5. Could you describe your role in the change process? |
| 6. Who were the other influential people in the change process? |
| a. Can you discuss why they were important in the change? |
| 7. What barriers did the state encounter during the change process? |
| a. Did the state have resistance to the new policies being developed? |
| b. Can you discuss what steps were necessary to overcome the barriers and/or resistance encountered during the change process? |
| 8. Once the policy was approved, how was the information disseminated to all the appropriate individuals influenced by the policy changes and developments (eg, coaches, athletic directors, athletic trainers and other medical personnel, parents, media)? |
| 9. Can you discuss how the policies are enforced? |
| 10. Are you aware of any penalties or consequences for not complying with the policies implemented by [New Jersey, Georgia, Arkansas]? |
| 11. If someone from another state asked you for advice on undertaking a similar change, what would you tell him or her? |
| 12. Reflecting back on the policy change, is there anything you would change or any information that you wish you knew at the start of the process that you do now? |
| 13. Do you plan to make any further changes within the state regarding athlete health and safety? |
| a. Probe: If so, how do you think this experience will affect you? |
| 14. Would you like to discuss anything else regarding the policy changes that occurred regarding the health and safety of high school student-athletes? |
| Follow-Up Questions |
| 1. Describe how your leadership style helped to overcome challenges encountered during the process of creating changes in the state? |
| a. How would you describe your leadership style? |
| b. Why do you believe you or others perceived that you played such an integral role in the change process? |
| 2. What personal skills or personal behaviors did you find to be most helpful in implementing this change? |
| 3. Do you believe the change process was the result of a team of people working together? |
| 4. In what way did you facilitate teamwork during the change process? |
| 5. In what way did you share responsibility with others during the change process? |
| 6. What do you think allowed the changes to be successfully adopted in the state (ie, what made the environment open to change)? |
| a. What made this time different? |