Professional male rugby union players' perceived psychological recovery and physical regeneration during the off-season

We explored male professional rugby union players' experiences and perceptions of their mental and physical health and well-being across the northern hemisphere off-season. 34 professional male rugby union players participated in individual semistructured interviews (mean (SD) age=27.5 (4.3) years). Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. The off-season was characterised by three phases players undergo to preserve their mental and physical health and well-being to recover from the previous season and regenerate in preparation for the upcoming season. These included decompression from previous season, cognitive detachment from the rugby environment and preparation for preseason. Successful progression through all three phases was influenced by several variables (work and life demands, contextual factors, experience level). Recovery and regeneration strategies focused on physical distancing/getting away from the rugby environment to cognitively detach. Injured players appear an at-risk subgroup for threats to mental well-being (isolation, anxiety, reduced sense of achievement) as a result of reduced or minimal time away from the workplace due to treatment obligations. Younger professionals are a subgroup at risk of overtraining/injury due to inadequate rest, especially as this group are least likely to seek support/guidance. This study is the first investigation into male professional rugby union players' experiences and perceptions of their mental and physical health and well-being across the off-season period. It highlights the distinct phases players undertake to mentally recover and regenerate and the need to consider education and support for potential at risk subgroups.

P02-08 This has just given me life back’ – mixed method evaluation of the Wild Skills, Wild Spaces ecotherapy project, Wales, UK

Wild Skills Wild Spaces (WSWS) is a Welsh Government funded project which aims to deliver and evaluate an ecotherapy programme to improve the health, skills, and wellbeing of local communities in rural Montgomeryshire, Wales. Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust (a third sector organisation) deliver the programme which is evaluated by Cardiff Metropolitan University.

The 2-year project, which began in April 2020, involves the running of 12-week interventions of weekly physically active ecotherapy activities such as tree pruning, woodwork, growing vegetables, walking and bushcraft skills. Participants (n = 40; mean age = 24.75 SD = 15.22) are people with mental health and/or behavioral problems referred via the National Health Service, health and social care partners, and schools.

The mixed method evaluation includes two phases: (i) a quantitative phase which involves pre and post intervention measures concerning connectedness to nature, wellbeing, and physical activity level; and, (ii) a qualitative phase which involves interviews and focus groups with participants, referrers, and programme leaders.

At this early stage in the data collection, to date no significant changes in pre and post ecotherapy intervention quantitative scores have been apparent. However, 100% of respondents have stated that they would like to continue taking part in ecotherapy programme. From the qualitative phase, participants described positive experiences of the programme particularly referring to how the programme supported their mental health, wellbeing, and social interactions. Additionally, participants highlighted the importance of the programme leaders in facilitating an enjoyable and safe environment in which they could relax, interact with others, and learn new skills.

Findings from year 1 of the 2-year evaluation provide promising results that ecotherapy programmes have the potential to attract socially excluded individuals into purposeful programmes. These programmes appear, through the qualitative findings to date, to benefit participants' self-reported holistic health but are also valued by them, for their contribution to supporting the environment through playing a part in the management of outdoor, green space in our communities.

P02-17 Promoting physical activity for mental health in the EU: Development and implementation of practice guidelines from the SPHERE EU project 2019-2020

Issue/problem

Despite physical activity having an established evidence base for mental health problems there is mixed practice across the EU regarding its role in the support of mental health problems. The SPHERE EU project (Sport Healing Rehabilitation; 2019-2020 http://www.ecos-europe.com/sphere/erasmus-project/) was established to draw together academics, practitioners and psychiatrists, to develop practical guidelines and case study examples for their implementation.

Description of the problem

To support the use of physical activity for mental health promotion, a critical review of evidence was conducted to inform the development of Practice Guidelines with case study examples of practice.

Results (effects/changes)

Practice Guidelines include 17 recommendations relating to physiological, psychological and social dimensions of mental health rehabilitation. The presentation will outline the practical, evidence-based guidelines designed for practitioners and evaluators which can be used to support the use of physical activity for mental health in the EU.

Lessons

Practical, evidence-based guidelines for practice must be flexible to allow for individual differences and preferences, settings (clinical or community), and facility and equipment availability. This aim of these Guidelines are to enable professionals involved in health enhancing physical activity for mental health to have that evidence translated into practice, in a form that can be transferred to their setting and country.

Main messages

Despite physical activity being widely understood to have an important role in the lives of people with mental health problems and other common co-morbidities for this population group, guidelines remain scarce. The SPHERE project has addressed this dearth and provides practical and pragmatic recommendations for physical activity for people with mental health problems in the future.

Cohort profile: The UK COVID-19 Public Experiences (COPE) prospective longitudinal mixed-methods study of health and well-being during the SARSCoV2 coronavirus pandemic

Public perceptions of pandemic viral threats and government policies can influence adherence to containment, delay, and mitigation policies such as physical distancing, hygienic practices, use of physical barriers, uptake of testing, contact tracing, and vaccination programs. The UK COVID-19 Public Experiences (COPE) study aims to identify determinants of health behaviour using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation (COM-B) model using a longitudinal mixed-methods approach. Here, we provide a detailed description of the demographic and self-reported health characteristics of the COPE cohort at baseline assessment, an overview of data collected, and plans for follow-up of the cohort. The COPE baseline survey was completed by 11,113 UK adult residents (18+ years of age). Baseline data collection started on the 13th of March 2020 (10-days before the introduction of the first national COVID-19 lockdown in the UK) and finished on the 13th of April 2020. Participants were recruited via the HealthWise Wales (HWW) research registry and through social media snowballing and advertising (Facebook®, Twitter®, Instagram®). Participants were predominantly female (69%), over 50 years of age (68%), identified as white (98%), and were living with their partner (68%). A large proportion (67%) had a college/university level education, and half reported a pre-existing health condition (50%). Initial follow-up plans for the cohort included in-depth surveys at 3-months and 12-months after the first UK national lockdown to assess short and medium-term effects of the pandemic on health behaviour and subjective health and well-being. Additional consent will be sought from participants at follow-up for data linkage and surveys at 18 and 24-months after the initial UK national lockdown. A large non-random sample was recruited to the COPE cohort during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, which will enable longitudinal analysis of the determinants of health behaviour and changes in subjective health and well-being over the course of the pandemic.

What influences student experience of Graduate Entry Medicine? Qualitative findings from Swansea School of Medicine

BACKGROUND

The Graduate Entry Programme (GEP) in Medicine delivered by Swansea University (currently in collaboration with Cardiff University) accepts students from a diverse range of academic backgrounds with no restriction in relation to the field of first degree. There is a growing body of literature, predominantly quantitative in nature, regarding the influence of academic background on student achievement but little published information on students' views.

AIM

To examine students' views regarding the extent to which previous higher education and wider life experience influence their student experience on the GEP course.

METHOD

Recruitment from three student cohorts and group interview data followed by descriptive thematic analysis of anonymized data.

RESULTS

Data themes were: (1) previous study experience and its impact on present student experience; (2) the impact of life experience; (3) the impact of the present study on life experience; (4) skills, status and difference; (5) characteristics and expectations of the course; (6) finances and (7) next steps. Previous study experience had little impact on present student experience. However, previous life experience, with time between first degree and GEP, clearly enhances the learning experience. Added maturity and early clinical contact enables students to manage the challenges of the course and the NHS environment despite financial strain and heavy coursework.

CONCLUSIONS

Analysing students' views is informative and provides richer insight into experience and expectations than that accessible from quantitative data alone.