We already informed you on the initiative of the Qualitative Research in Sports Medicine special interest group (aka QRSMed). A growing group of researchers in the field of sports medicine, with a keen interest and belief in qualitative research methods. The aim of QRSMed is to identify and champion strategies required to facilitate, support, and incentivise qualitative research in athlete health protection. Together with the founding members of this group we have written a call to action.
The past 30 years of athlete health protection have largely been successful in answering the research questions that our field has sought to investigate. Interventions have proven efficacious in a wide range of areas and populations, and the field has moved to optimise effectiveness in recent years. Despite this success, it is widely acknowledged that athlete health protection still has several challenges to address. These challenges include bridging the gap between research and practice in a number of key ways, including for example: the inclusion of the athlete voice, and the implementation of health protection strategies.
With the turn towards the importance of centering the athlete as key stakeholder - and their inclusion in research and practice decisions – qualitative research has never been more relevant and timely. Qualitative research has the inbuilt mandate to place the stakeholder (often the athletes) front and center in both formulating the research question as well as the analysis. Truly athlete-centred approaches, will require that we embrace and incorporate the ‘multiple truths’ and ‘social facts’ of our research and practice. This includes recognising and integrating the perspectives of athletes, members of their multidisciplinary coaching, and clinical care teams, and others involved in athlete health protection.
By ensuring a seat at the table for qualitative research, we hold space for more clinically-relevant knowledge building, the advancement of excellence in our field, and, ultimately, ensuring that we truly are working in service of athlete-centred research and practice. In this way, qualitative research is highly important to and valuable for the big picture of athlete health protection. The time for high quality qualitative work has come.
The full article can be read here
Bekker S, Bolling C, H Ahmed O, Badenhorst M, Carmichael J, Fagher K, Hägglund M, Jacobsson J, John JM, Litzy K, H Mann R, D McKay C, Mumford S, Tabben M, Thiel A, Timpka T, Thurston J, Truong LK, Spörri J, van Nassau F, Verhagen EA. Athlete health protection: Why qualitative research matters. J Sci Med Sport. 2020 Oct;23(10):898-901.