Adolescent female rugby union players’ attitudes, beliefs and behaviours towards injury and injury prevention strategies in England

Background and aims Within adolescent female rugby union, various effective injury prevention strategies are available to players to mitigate injury. However, little is known regarding the players’ attitudes, beliefs and behaviours towards those strategies, as well as injuries. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the attitudes, beliefs, behaviours and injury-reporting behaviours of adolescent female rugby players regarding injury and injury prevention strategies. The secondary aim was to examine associations between individual factors (eg, player demographics) and injury-reporting behaviours. Methods Participants completed an online cross-sectional survey and were recruited from under-16 and under-18 rugby teams in schools/colleges, clubs and developing player pathway programmes in England. Results 1062 players were contacted to participate, 424 responded and 422 met the eligibility criteria; 79 participants had incomplete responses. 14% of players had not previously reported a suspected concussion to a coach/medical staff member, and 37% of players had previously not reported sustaining one or more musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries to a coach/medical staff member. Factors cited for non-disclosure of concussion and MSK injuries included not wanting to miss rugby sessions (43% and 39%) and not knowing that symptom(s) were related to an injury (11% and 17%). Players held positive attitudes, beliefs and behaviours towards injury and injury prevention, but their understanding of the effectiveness of protective equipment varied. Conclusion This study provides a greater understanding of adolescent female rugby players’ attitudes, beliefs and behaviours towards injury and injury prevention and aids in the development of effective injury prevention initiatives.