633 MEP079 – Reflections on implementing an injury surveillance system in Welsh men’s community rugby union

AbstractBackground Few injury surveillance systems (ISS) currently exist to assess community level injury epidemiology, leading to a lack of data to inform player welfare. Objective The aim is to reflect upon the issues faced within the first year of implementing an ISS in men's community rugby union in Wales.Design Cross sectional, case control cohort study.Setting All 302 community rugby union clubs with adult male teams in Wales were contacted to gain player consent for data collection for the ISS.Participants 394 participants from 129 clubs.Intervention Player injuries were logged into an electronic survey by club operations managers, with follow-up entry upon return to play. The electronic survey was constructed using relevant consensus statements. Main Outcome Measurements Uptake and implementation were assessed using quantitative analysis in line with RE-AIM framework. Results Across the community game there was 43% response, 6% adoption and 1.5% maintenance of data reporting. Potential factors contributing to the low adoption and maintenance were attained through open ended responses and include availability of medical staff; multiple roles for each person; lack of time; and, minimal player sign-up in some teams due to low perceptions of the value of the ISS.Conclusions Challenges were identified reaching every community club, achieving high levels of adoption and maintenance. A future strategy to enhance adoption and maintenance of the ISS may require targeting a subset of clubs in a similar geographical location in the country. It may be beneficial for researchers to better facilitate engagement of clubs to report data, which in term may assist in the understanding of global injury epidemiology within the community level.