Too much information? A document analysis of sport safety resources from key organisations

Are we levelling the playing field? A qualitative case study of the awareness, uptake and relevance of the IOC consensus statements in two countries

OBJECTIVES

Research evidence is commonly compiled into expert-informed consensus guidelines intended to consolidate and distribute sports medicine knowledge. Between 2003 and 2018, 27 International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statements were produced. This study explored the policy and practice impact of the IOC Statements on athlete health and medical team management in two economically and contextually diverse countries.

METHODS

A qualitative case study design was adopted. Fourteen face-to-face interviews were conducted with purposively selected interviewees, seven participants from Australia (higher economic equality) and seven from South Africa (lower economic equality), representing their national medical commissions (doctors and physiotherapists of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth teams). A framework method was used to analyse interview transcripts and identify key themes.

RESULTS

Differences across resource settings were found, particularly in the perceived usefulness of the IOC Statements and their accessibility. Both settings were unsure about the purpose of the IOC Statements and their intended audience. However, both valued the existence of evidence-informed guidelines. In the Australian setting, there was less reliance on the resources developed by the IOC, preferring to use locally contextualised documents that are readily available.

CONCLUSION

The IOC Statements are valuable evidence-informed resources that support translation of knowledge into clinical sports medicine practice. However, to be fully effective, they must be perceived as useful and relevant and should reach their target audiences with ready access. This study showed different contexts require different resources, levels of support and dissemination approaches. Future development and dissemination of IOC Statements should consider the perspectives and the diversity of contexts they are intended for.

Mediating Effect of Sports Safety Awareness between Sports Activity Habits and the Intention to Complete Safety Education among Korean Adolescents

BACKGROUND

As the importance of safety during sports activities continues to gain emphasis socially, the interest in creating a culture of safety and safety education to support this is also increasing. However, no study has examined the willingness of adolescents to complete safety education voluntarily. To identify methods of building a culture of sports safety among adolescents, this study investigated the structural relationship among three related variables: sports activity habits, intention to complete safety education, and sports safety awareness of Korean adolescents.

METHODS

Data on 3928 adolescents aged 13-18 years old from the 2019 Sports Safety Accident Survey conducted by the Korea Sports Safety Foundation were analyzed. This encompassed frequency analysis, scale reliability, validity verification, descriptive statistics analysis, path analysis, and mediating effect verification.

RESULTS

The results indicated that sports activity habits among these adolescents had a positive effect on their sports safety awareness and on their intention to complete safety education; further, their sports safety awareness had a positive effect on their intention to complete safety education. The results also showed that sports safety awareness had a partial mediating effect between sports activity habits and intention to complete safety education. The willingness of adolescents to voluntarily complete safety education is particularly important, as adolescence is a critical period when lifelong safety habits can be formed.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results, discussions on creating safe sports activity habits for adolescents and continuous education on sports safety awareness are needed. Ultimately, we need to improve sports safety awareness by paying attention to the development and implementation of sports safety education programs for adolescents as a national policy and, through this, increase their willingness to complete safety education.

Integrating and maintaining automated external defibrillators and emergency planning in community sport settings: a qualitative case study

INTRODUCTION

A voluntary State Government-led programme in Victoria, Australia 'Defibrillators for Sporting Clubs and Facilities Program' ran from 2015 to 2019, broadly aimed at increasing access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs), together with a greater number of community members trained for management of medical emergencies. This study aimed to understand whether participating sport clubs/facilities had successfully integrated an AED and medical planning with other club/facility safety practices, 12 months after delivery of the programme.

METHODS

This was a qualitative case study of 14 sport clubs/facilities in Victoria, Australia in 2017, underpinned by the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. We conducted observational audits of facilities (to locate AED placement, signage and other relevant location-specific factors) and semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with representatives of the clubs/facilities. Interview questions were designed to determine if and how the related, mandated emergency management programme was adapted for the long term (embedding), whether this aligned to ongoing organisational mission (active engagement), and whether or not it was still ongoing 6 months postinitial implementation (sustainability). Data were evaluated using qualitative descriptive methodology. For reporting, descriptive summaries of the audit were combined with interview data to contextualise and visualise the sport club/facility setting and key results.

RESULTS

Key issues identified were accessibility and visibility of the AED, with inadequate signage and challenges identifying an efficient location for access and storage. Most interviewees reported the AED and training were received with no further actions taken towards safety planning or integration with club/facility practice. Several challenges regarding remaining up to date with training and ensuring required routine checks of the AED take place were also raised.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified several challenges for community sport clubs/facilities in the implementation of an AED and medical planning programme, including where to store the AED, how to make its presence known to the community and how to integrate changes alongside other club/facility practices.

Developing web-based health guidance for coaches and parents in child athletics (track and field)

The aim of this study was to develop athletics health guidance (AHG) aimed at supporting coaches and parents involved in organized child athletics by providing practical advice and tools for the management of the most common health problems experienced in athletics by the 12- to 15-year olds. The study used participatory action research (PAR) and an established health service guideline development procedure modified to fit AHG development in child athletics. A sequential process consisting of four steps with associated subgoals was employed. The collected data were structured according to the AHG development steps and analyzed using qualitative methods. The most common health concern identified was injuries related to growth and overuse. No randomized controlled studies investigating injury prevention programs or any existing concepts/guidelines in child athletics were found that could be used in the development of the AHG. A requirements document was instead defined in a nominal group process and used for the AHG development. The areas included in the final AHG were as follows: training youth athletes, growth and puberty, recovery, injury prevention, injuries and illnesses, mental illness, safe sport, and anti-doping. The evidence regarding health issues in child athletics is limited, indicating that actions to support good health in the sport are currently based essentially on best practice. The long-term aim of the AHG and associated website is to systematically create and introduce conditions that can bridge the "know-do gap" and provide coaches and parents with easy-to-access and up-to-date knowledge in the field of child athlete health in athletics.

Document analysis of exertional heat illness policies and guidelines published by sports organisations in Victoria, Australia

Objectives

To conduct a document and content analysis of exertional heat illness (EHI)-related documents published by sports organisations in Victoria, Australia, in order to determine their scope and evidence base against current international best practice recommendations.

Methods

A qualitative document and content analysis. Official documents relating to EHI were identified through a search of 22 Victorian sport organisation websites, supplemented by a general internet search. The content of these documents was evaluated against recommendations presented in three current international position statements on prevention and management of EHI.

Results

A range of document types addressing EHI were identified (n=25), including specific heat policies, match day guides, rules and regulations. Recommendations about prevention measures were the most common information presented, but these were largely focused on event modification/cancellation guidelines only (n=22; 88%). Most documents provided information on hydration as a preventive measure (n=20; 80%), but the emphasis on the importance of cooling strategies (n=7; 28%) and heat acclimatisation (n=5; 20%) was inadequate. Details on EHI, including its definition, symptoms/signs to look out for, and common risk factors (beyond humidity/high temperatures) were lacking in most documents.

Conclusion

There is considerable variation in formal documents with regard to their content and quality of information. Continued efforts to bridge the evidence to practice gap in sports safety are therefore important. This study highlights the challenge for community sport, which relies on high-level policy and governance, across settings and populations that can differ substantially in their needs.

Investigation on human rights ethics in artificial intelligence researches with library literature analysis method

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to identify whether artificial intelligence (AI) products can possess human rights, how to define their rights and obligations and what ethical standards they should follow. In this study, the human rights ethical dilemma encountered in the application and development of AI technology has been focused on and analyzed in detail in the light of the existing research status of AI ethics.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, first of all, the development and application of AI technology, as well as the concept and characteristics of human rights ethics, are introduced. Second, the human rights ethics of AI technology are introduced in detail, including the human rights endowment of AI machines, the fault liability of AI machines and the moral orientation of AI machines. Finally, the approaches to human rights ethics are proposed to ensure that AI technology serves human beings. Every link of its research, production and application should be strictly managed and supervised.

Findings

The results show that the research in this study can provide help for the related problems encountered in AI practice. Intelligent library integrates human rights protection organically so that readers or users can experience more intimate service in this system. It is a kind of library operation mode with more efficient and convenient characteristics, which is based on digital, networked and intelligent information science. It aims at using the greenest way and digital means to realize the reading and research of human rights protection literature in the literature analysis method.

Originality/value

Intelligent library is the future development mode of new libraries, which can realize broad interconnection and sharing. It is people-oriented and can make intelligent management and service and establish the importance of the principle of human rights protection and the specific idea of the principle. The development of science and technology brings not only convenience to people's social life but also questions to be thought. People should reduce its potential harm, so as to make AI technology continue to benefit humankind.

The translation of sports injury prevention and safety promotion knowledge: insights from key intermediary organisations

BACKGROUND

A recognised research-to-practice gap exists in the health research field of sports injury prevention and safety promotion. There is a need for improved insight into increasing the relevancy, accessibility and legitimacy of injury prevention and safety promotion research knowledge for sport settings. The role of key organisations as intermediaries in the process of health knowledge translation for sports settings remains under-explored, and this paper aims to determine, and describe, the processes of knowledge translation undertaken by a set of key organisations in developing and distributing injury prevention and safety promotion resources.

METHODS

The National Guidance for Australian Football Partnerships and Safety (NoGAPS) project provided the context for this study. Representatives from five key NoGAPS organisations participated in individual face-to-face interviews about organisational processes of knowledge translation. A qualitative descriptive methodology was used to analyse participants' descriptions of knowledge translation activities undertaken at their respective organisations.

RESULTS

Several themes emerged around health knowledge translation processes and considerations, including (1) identifying a need for knowledge translation, (2) developing and disseminating resources, and (3) barriers and enablers to knowledge translation.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides insight into the processes that key organisations employ when developing and disseminating injury prevention and safety promotion resources within sport settings. The relevancy, accessibility and legitimacy of health research knowledge is foregrounded, with a view to increasing the influence of research on the development of health-related resources suitable for community sport settings.