Supervisor
Prof L.L Leach
Co-supervisors
Dr. B.S Andrews, Prof. Dr. R Meeusen, Prof E. Verhagen
Project Partners
This project is a study coordinated and supervised in The Department of Sport, Recreation &Exercise Science at The University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa)
VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Vrije Universiteit, Brussels
Funding
The study is partially funded by an HDI grant through High-Performance Sport at The University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa).
Background
Varsity sports is undoubtedly the most commercialized and popular university sports tournament in South Africa, aligning and contributing to the national sports agenda. In recent years, there has been a continuous increase in athlete participation, investments in student-athletes and team support, and improvement in sport science support services in Varsity Sports. These complement the International Olympic Committee and international sports organizations’ continuous recognition and support on injury surveillance and epidemiological research on sports injury in sport in the effort to protect athlete's health. Despite this, information on sports injuries during the Varsity Sports tournaments is limited to only one retrospective study. Similarly, Varsity Sports has no mandatory injury monitoring system. This study aims to develop a university-based injury-monitoring system for prioritized sporting codes competing in Varsity Sports in South Africa. The Translating Research into Injury Prevention Practice (TRIPP) framework by (Finch, 2006a). will be utilized as the theoretical framework in this study.
The study will use a mixed-methods sequential explanatory study design implemented in four phases. The four sequential phases will include (i) a systematic review of the best available evidence on the methods for recording and reporting of sports injuries in student-athletes; (ii) a quantitative phase to assess the current state of injury-monitoring within universities in Varsity Sports through a cross-sectional online survey design; (iii) a qualitative phase to explore the end users' perceptions and experiences on injury-monitoring systems through semi-structured interviews and focus groups discussions; and (iv) a Delphi study to develop the university-based injury monitoring system.
Study aim
The purpose of this study will be to develop a comprehensive university-based injury monitoring system for prioritized university sports codes in South Africa. The objectives of the study will be the following:
• To identify the best available evidence on the methods for recording and reporting sports injuries in student-athletes at universities by conducting a systematic review.
• To determine how information on injury data is collected, recorded, and reported for prioritized sport codes at universities in South Africa.
• To identify the perceived barriers and facilitators in reporting injuries in prioritized sport codes at universities in South Africa.
• To assess the current injury-monitoring systems for prioritized sport codes at universities in South Africa.
• To explore how information on injury data is collected, recorded, and reported for prioritized sport codes at universities in South Africa.
• To explore the barriers and facilitators influencing the development of a university-based injury-monitoring system for prioritized sports codes competing within varsity sports.
• To develop a university-based injury-monitoring system for prioritized sport codes at universities in South Africa using the Delphi study.