887 EP101 – Establishing an athlete healthcare management system in a developing country: identifying the key focus areas for a resource- constrained setting

Background Several challenges face sports medicine practitioners in developing nations in the course of undertaking their duties. These challenges include inadequate or absence of funding for sports medicine programs that support elite athletes. An opportunity has been provided through a grant to organize a pilot project centred on a healthcare system for national team athletes preparing to participate in international sports competitions. This makes a shift, allowing the sports medicine practitioners to move from being bystanders to offering solutions to the unique health challenges encountered. Objective Establishing the physical and mental health status of selected national team athletes Design Prospective cohort study. Setting National team setting: athletes preparing for international sports assignments in various disciplines. Participants National team athletes from selected sports disciplines from the point of selection for a sports assignment up to the point of completing the assignment. Assessment of Risk Factors Pre-participation assessment for physical and mental health. Periodic health evaluation Health monitoring. Athletes will be referred to local sports medicine specialists for management of health issues diagnosed through the various evaluations. Main outcome Measurements Establish the physical and mental health parameters of the athletes through the various evaluations indicated above Results The study findings will identify the parameters of physical and mental health of the selected athletes following the evaluations. Conclusions Through the results obtained, focus areas on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs for the athletes will be identified. From understanding the local dynamics and contextualizing care, the long-term goal is facilitating athletes, coaches, athlete support personnel, administrators, health care workers and other relevant sports stakeholders to actively participate in matters related to athlete health. The experience from the project will be used as a reference for setting up athlete health care programs in the future in the region. *Await ERC submission*