Understanding the challenges of injury in providing sport programmes for physically inactive women: concept mapping insights from programme deliverers.

OBJECTIVES: Injury/poor health is an important barrier to women's participation in sport and physical activity. This study aimed to identify perceived challenges sport programme deliverers face when supporting physically inactive women to prevent/manage injury. METHODS: Sport programme deliverers, targeting physically inactive women in Victoria, participated in concept mapping to brainstorm, sort and rate (impact on their ability to prevent/manage injury, frequency of and difficulty to overcome the challenge on a 1 (low)-5 (high) scale) the challenges faced. Analysis included multidimensional scaling, hierarchical cluster analysis and descriptive statistics (eg, mean ratings). RESULTS: Twenty-five deliverers brainstormed 82 injury prevention/management-related challenges. An eight cluster map was considered the most appropriate representation of the participants' sorting data (mean cluster impact, frequency and difficulty to overcome rating (1-5)): time constraints (3.42, 3.69, 3.12); perceived competence in injury prevention/management (3.36, 3.50, 3.27); navigating participant perceptions and knowledge (3.35, 3.74, 3.49); information and responsibility (3.32, 3.50, 3.26); session planning and structure (3.25, 3.45, 3.07); participant engagement (3.13, 3.47, 3.08); responding to individual needs (3.07, 3.42, 2.92) and access to injury management resources (2.87, 3.25, 3.17). CONCLUSION: Limited time created injury prevention/management challenges for programme deliverers when planning and modifying sport programmes for physically inactive women. Injury prevention/management should be integrated into programme design and delivery principles. Programme deliverers need education/training and access to injury prevention/management resources (eg, activity modification) and engagement/communication strategies tailored for physically inactive women. Public health funders, coaching course accreditors, programme designers and deliverers can use these insights to develop strategies to minimise injury risk and effect systemic change in sport programme delivery.

Impact of the first year of the "This girl can" physical activity and sport mass media campaign in Australia.

INTRODUCTION: Addressing gender inequalities in physical activity is an important public health goal. A major campaign, 'This Girl Can' (TGC) was conducted by Sport England from 2015, and TGC was licenced in 2018 by VicHealth in Australia for development and use in a 3-year mass media campaign. The campaign was adapted through formative testing to Australian conditions and implemented within the state of Victoria. The purpose of this evaluation was to assess the initial population impact of the first wave of the TGC-Victoria. METHODS: We assessed campaign impact using serial population surveys, with the target population being women living in Victoria who were not meeting the current physical activity guidelines. Two surveys were carried out before the campaign (October 2017 and March 2018), and the post-campaign survey immediately following the first wave of TGC-Victoria mass media (May 2018). Analyses were primarily on the cohort sample of 818 low-active women followed across all three surveys. We measured campaign effects using campaign awareness and recall, and self-report measures of physical activity behaviour and perceptions of being judged. Changes in perceptions of being judged and in reported physical activity were assessed in relation to campaign awareness over time. RESULTS: Overall, TGC-Victoria campaign recall increased from 11.2% pre-campaign to 31.9% post-campaign, with campaign awareness more likely among younger and more educated women. There was a slight increase of 0.19 days in weekly physical activity following the campaign. Feeling that being judged was a barrier to physical activity declined at follow up, as did the single item perceptions of feeling judged (P < 0.01). Feeling embarrassed decreased, and self-determination increased, but exercise relevance, theory of planned behaviour and self-efficacy scores did not change. CONCLUSIONS: The initial wave of the TGC-Victoria mass media campaign showed reasonably high levels of community awareness and encouraging decreases in women feeling judged whilst being active, but these did not yet translate into overall physical activity gains. Further waves of the TGC-V campaign are in progress to reinforce these changes and further influence the perception of being judged among low-active Victorian women.

The Gambling Behaviour and Attitudes to Sports Betting of Sports Fans.

Survey responses from a sample of nearly 15,000 Australian sports fans were used to study the determinants of: (i) gambling behaviour, including if a person does gamble and the type of gambling engaged with; (ii) the number of sports and non-sports bets made over a 12-month period; and (iii) attitudes towards betting on sports. The probability of betting on sports decreased with increasing age and was lower for women and people with a university education. This gender difference varied with age, with the greatest difference found among the young. Similar effects were observed for the number of sports bets made, which declined with age. The gender difference in the number of sports bets also varied with age with the greatest difference found among the young arising from the high propensity of young men to bet on sports. Attitudes to sports betting were also analysed, with a key finding that, within friendship circles, the views that sports betting is perceived as harmless, common and very much a part of enjoying sports were stronger among young men. These permissive attitudes were stronger among people who bet on sports and those who bet on sports more frequently. The analysis of sports fans provides insights into the characteristics of the target market most likely to bet on sports, which can be used to inform public health initiatives and harm reduction campaigns.

Healthy-Canteen Displays: A Tactic to Encourage Community Sport Canteens to Provide Healthier Food and Beverage Options.

(1) Background: Community sport settings present a range of conflicting health behaviours, including the tension between being physically active and consuming discretionary foods. Therefore, community sport settings are considered a promising location for health promotion. The aim of this project was to evaluate perceptions, knowledge and the impact (e.g., barriers and outcomes) of a healthy-canteen (cafeteria) display, based on traffic light labeling (TLL), which was set up at an Australian Basketball Association Managers' Convention and Trade Show. (2) Methods: We set up a healthy 'canteen display and surveyed Basketball managers on their perceptions of the display before (Survey 1) and after (Survey 2) visiting the display. Three months later they were surveyed (Survey 3) on changes made to their community sport canteens. (3) Results: Eighty-eight, 76 and 22 participants completed Surveys 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Participants believed stocking healthy foods and beverages was important (mean 8.5/10). Food waste, lack of consumer interest and price were identified barriers to stocking healthy foods. After visiting the display, 75% were inspired to make changes and 50% were surprised by the differences between their perceptions of the healthfulness of foods and the TLL ratings. Post-convention, 41% and 70% made or had planned healthy changes to their community sport canteen. (4) Conclusions: A healthy-canteen display is a low-cost, easy-to-implement strategy that may be able to direct self-driven improvement in the healthfulness of foods stocked at community canteens and lead to improved nutritional intakes at these venues.

The Challenges of Partnering to Promote Health through Sport.

Interagency partnerships and collaborations underpin a settings-based approach to health promotion in all settings, including sport. This study used an online concept mapping approach to explore the challenges that Regional Sports Assemblies (RSAs) in Victoria, Australia experienced when working in partnerships to develop and deliver physical activity programs in a community sport context. Participants from nine RSAs brainstormed 46 unique partnership-related challenges that they then sorted into groups based on similarity of meaning and rated for importance and capacity to manage (6-point scale; 0 = least, 5 = most). A six cluster map (number of statements in cluster, mean cluster importance and capacity ratings)-Co-design for regional areas (4, 4.22, 2.51); Financial resources (3, 4.00, 2.32); Localised delivery challenges (4, 3.72, 2.33); Challenges implementing existing State Sporting Association (SSA) products (9, 3.58, 2.23); Working with clubs (8, 3.43, 2.99); and Partnership engagement (18, 3.23, 2.95)-was considered the most appropriate interpretation of the sorted data. The most important challenge was Lack of volunteer time (4.56). Partnerships to implement health promotion initiatives in sports settings involve multiple challenges, particularly for regional sport organisations working in partnership with community sport clubs with limited human and financial resources, to implement programs developed by national or state-based organisations.

Challenges for sport organisations developing and delivering non-traditional social sport products for insufficiently active populations.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the challenges that Victorian sporting organisations experience when developing, delivering or scaling non-traditional social sport products to engage insufficiently active people. METHODS: Online Concept Mapping was used to gather qualitative data and analyse it quantitatively. RESULTS: A total of 68 participants (27 organisations) brainstormed 158 challenges. The research team synthesised these to 71 unique challenges for participants to sort into groups and rate for importance (0-5) and ease of overcoming (0-5). A nine-cluster solution - Deliverers; Capacity to drive the product; Facilities and partnerships; Product development; Sustainable business model; Marketing to insufficiently active; Attracting the insufficiently active; Clubs and volunteers; and Shifting traditional sport culture - was considered most appropriate. Participants rated the Deliverers challenges as the most important (mean=3.52), and the Marketing to insufficiently active challenges as the easiest to overcome (2.72). CONCLUSIONS: Key ingredients to successfully developing and delivering non-traditional sport opportunities for insufficiently active populations are: recruiting appropriate product deliverers; building the capacity of delivery organisations and systems; and developing products relevant to the delivery context that align with the needs and characteristics of the target population. Implications for public health: A system-wide response is required to address the challenges associated with sport organisations developing, scaling and delivering innovative social sport products for insufficiently active populations.

The impact of coaches providing healthy snacks at junior sport training.

OBJECTIVE: Sports clubs provide an opportunity to tackle childhood obesity rates through targeted interventions. Our study aimed to investigate if coaches providing healthy snacks to participants before junior netball sessions at five clubs in Melbourne, Australia, increased consumption of healthy foods and influenced coach perceptions of participants' attention/participation levels. METHODS: Coaches provided healthy snacks to participants before each netball session for one school term. Children's food consumption was observed at one session before, during and after the intervention. Parents attending the observed session completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires. Coaches rated participants' attention/participation at the observed sessions before and during the intervention, and completed a questionnaire post-intervention. RESULTS: Baseline: Ice cream and cake were the most frequently consumed snacks. During intervention: Fruit, cheese and crackers and vegetables were the most frequently consumed snacks. Coaches ratings of participants' attention/participation increased significantly (baseline: 6.4 ± 0.17, intervention: 7.5 ± 0.36; p=0.02) where the same coach undertook ratings at both time points. CONCLUSIONS: Coaches providing healthy snacks before sessions at sports clubs increased consumption of nutrient-dense foods at the session, and may have positively affected participants' attention/participation. Implications for public health: This study highlights how a simple intervention could improve the diet of Australian children.