Closing the Gap: Improving Detection of RED-S in Pediatric Sports Medicine Clinics Through Targeted Screening
Presenter Status
Fellow
Abstract Type
QI Project
Primary Mentor or Principal Investigator
Greg Canty, MD
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
21-5-2026 12:00 PM
End Date
21-5-2026 1:00 PM
Abstract Text
Background/Problem Statement/Question:
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) is a prevalent but under-recognized condition in adolescent athletes with significant health implications. Children's Mercy sports medicine providers are concerned that the absence of routine standardized screening within our sports medicine clinics leads to variability in identification and potential delays in diagnosis and management. Despite the availability of validated screening questionnaires, these tools have not been routinely integrated into clinical workflows. This gap highlights the need for a quality improvement initiative to implement standardized RED-S screening and improve identification of at-risk athletes.
Project Intent (Aim Statement):
To determine the proportion of adolescent athletes aged 11 years and older who screen positive for risk of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport following implementation of a standardized 13-question screening tool in Children’s Mercy sports medicine clinics, by screening 100 patients over 1 month.
Secondary Aim: To improve appropriate clinical response to positive RED-S screens by increasing the proportion of at-risk athletes who receive timely referral to Adolescent Medicine or other appropriate multidisciplinary services without negatively impacting clinic workflow.
Methods:
This quality improvement project implemented a standardized RED-S screening questionnaire developed by the Adolescent Medicine department (based on known validated screening tools) across Children’s Mercy sports medicine clinics. Baseline identification rates for athletes at risk were not available prior to implementation, as no systematic screening process existed within the clinics. The intervention included integration of the screening tool into clinic workflows, provider education, and iterative Plan–Do–Study–Act (PDSA) cycles (see below). Outcome, process, and balancing measures were tracked over the intervention period.
Plan: Implement the Adolescent Medicine RED-S screening questionnaire in one sports medicine clinic. Train providers and staff and define workflow for administering and documenting the questionnaire.
Do: Pilot the questionnaire with patients ≥11 years old over 2–4 weeks. Collect completed screens and document results.
Study: Review completion rates, number of at-risk athletes identified, and provider feedback on workflow challenges.
Act: Refine the workflow based on findings (timing, instructions, staff support) and expand implementation to additional clinic sites.
Results:
Implementation of a standardized RED-S screening process has been initiated in Children’s Mercy sports medicine clinics. Early data collection is ongoing to evaluate screening completion rates and identification of athletes at risk for RED-S. At the time of abstract submission, the intervention is in the early implementation phase, and outcome and process measure data are not yet complete. Results will be available after completion of screening for 100 patients aged 11 years and older and will be presented subsequently.
Conclusions:
RED-S screening implementation is underway and is focused on identification. Preliminary experience suggests feasibility, and ongoing data collection will assess its impact on identification of at-risk athletes and clinic workflow, informing future quality improvement cycles.
AI-assisted text generation was used only to support language editing of this abstract.
Closing the Gap: Improving Detection of RED-S in Pediatric Sports Medicine Clinics Through Targeted Screening
Background/Problem Statement/Question:
Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) is a prevalent but under-recognized condition in adolescent athletes with significant health implications. Children's Mercy sports medicine providers are concerned that the absence of routine standardized screening within our sports medicine clinics leads to variability in identification and potential delays in diagnosis and management. Despite the availability of validated screening questionnaires, these tools have not been routinely integrated into clinical workflows. This gap highlights the need for a quality improvement initiative to implement standardized RED-S screening and improve identification of at-risk athletes.
Project Intent (Aim Statement):
To determine the proportion of adolescent athletes aged 11 years and older who screen positive for risk of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport following implementation of a standardized 13-question screening tool in Children’s Mercy sports medicine clinics, by screening 100 patients over 1 month.
Secondary Aim: To improve appropriate clinical response to positive RED-S screens by increasing the proportion of at-risk athletes who receive timely referral to Adolescent Medicine or other appropriate multidisciplinary services without negatively impacting clinic workflow.
Methods:
This quality improvement project implemented a standardized RED-S screening questionnaire developed by the Adolescent Medicine department (based on known validated screening tools) across Children’s Mercy sports medicine clinics. Baseline identification rates for athletes at risk were not available prior to implementation, as no systematic screening process existed within the clinics. The intervention included integration of the screening tool into clinic workflows, provider education, and iterative Plan–Do–Study–Act (PDSA) cycles (see below). Outcome, process, and balancing measures were tracked over the intervention period.
Plan: Implement the Adolescent Medicine RED-S screening questionnaire in one sports medicine clinic. Train providers and staff and define workflow for administering and documenting the questionnaire.
Do: Pilot the questionnaire with patients ≥11 years old over 2–4 weeks. Collect completed screens and document results.
Study: Review completion rates, number of at-risk athletes identified, and provider feedback on workflow challenges.
Act: Refine the workflow based on findings (timing, instructions, staff support) and expand implementation to additional clinic sites.
Results:
Implementation of a standardized RED-S screening process has been initiated in Children’s Mercy sports medicine clinics. Early data collection is ongoing to evaluate screening completion rates and identification of athletes at risk for RED-S. At the time of abstract submission, the intervention is in the early implementation phase, and outcome and process measure data are not yet complete. Results will be available after completion of screening for 100 patients aged 11 years and older and will be presented subsequently.
Conclusions:
RED-S screening implementation is underway and is focused on identification. Preliminary experience suggests feasibility, and ongoing data collection will assess its impact on identification of at-risk athletes and clinic workflow, informing future quality improvement cycles.
AI-assisted text generation was used only to support language editing of this abstract.
Comments
Restricted to Title/Author List/Abstract only as requested by primary author
Poster Board Number: 36