Behavior change - a key aspect of injury preventive training in youth sport

Research output: Contribution to conferenceAbstractpeer-review

Abstract

Injury preventive exercise programs in community sport are of great importance to increase the well-being and engagement of youth in regular physical activity, exercise and sport from a lifespan perspective. In addition, effective Injury preventive exercise programs will indirectly contribute to enhanced sports performance; however research is needed to better understand the strategies to successfully implement injury prevention training routines for young athletes within the real-world sport club environment.

Systematic reviews and meta-analyses which focus sport injury prevention studies underline the inadequate use of theory-based methods to increase the effectiveness of such behavior change interventions. To bridge the “intention-behavior gap”, there has been a call for applying theories that include strategies to maintain behavior change. The theoretical framework “Health Action Process Approach” is an example of a theory which focuses on initiation and maintenance of behaviour change. The HAPA framework has been used in various focus areas with different methodological approaches and age groups. Also, one exploratory study has examined the first part of the HAPA model (motivational stage) in relation to an injury preventive exercise program (FIFA 11+) in female youth soccer. In general, the results of these studies support the application of HAPA-informed psychological processes.

We, as a research group (I-PROTECT), have established collaboration with two handball clubs. This collaborative approach is required to combine valuable research and practice knowledge. One of our goals is to develop a sport-specific Health Action Process Approach-informed behavior change model for youth handball injury prevention training routines. Applied knowledge of theory-based behavior change processes in relation to injury preventive exercise programs within a sport club setting is highly warranted.
Original languageEnglish
Pages48
Number of pages1
Publication statusPublished - 2017 Nov 23
EventNordic Sport Science Conference: The Double-Edged Sword of Sport: Health Promotion Versus Unhealthy Environments - Halmstad, Sweden
Duration: 2017 Nov 222017 Nov 23

Conference

ConferenceNordic Sport Science Conference
Country/TerritorySweden
CityHalmstad
Period2017/11/222017/11/23

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Psychology
  • Health Sciences

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