683 MEP092 – Golfers’ perspectives on injury prevention: a qualitative study on factors influencing successful implementation

AbstractBackground It is unclear so far how recreational golfers experience an injury prevention program in the real-life setting. A qualitative approach can be used to get insight into this implementation's complexity. Objective To investigate the perception of recreational golfers on warm-up in general, their experiences with the Golf Injury Prevention Program (GRIPP), and their opinions on how to implement our injury prevention program in a recreational golf setting.Design An explorative qualitative study with a constructivist paradigm to underpin the study.Setting Semi-structured interviews were held via phone or online video conferencing. Participants Through convenience sampling, we invited 11 golfers (5 males; 6 females) assigned to the intervention group of a trial investigating the effectiveness of GRIPP.Intervention Not applicable.Main Outcome Measurements We conducted semi-structured interviews following an interview guide based on three predetermined topics: general warm-up, injury prevention, and GRIPP implementation. All interviews were audio recorded and verbatim transcribed. We performed a thematic analysis using ATLAS.ti.Results Participants had different reasons for performing a warm-up in general: prevention, self-care, preparation, and optimizing performance. Previous experience with a warm-up positively influenced the performance. The GRIPP program was classified as 'feasible', and the supplied material was determined as 'sufficient'. Participants mentioned it might prevent injuries and improve performance on the golf course. Participants mentioned slight differences in available information channels of golf clubs which influences implementation. The golf 'professional' was determined as an important factor in the promotion and facilitation of warm-up.Conclusion Even though recreational golfers acknowledge the performance and health benefits of a warm-up routine, the actual conduct of such a program in their context provides unique challenges. Previous and current experiences are influencing the performance. For successful implementation of an injury prevention program in golf, the involvement of the club and golf professionals should be considered.