Is it feasible to implement an injury surveillance system for amateur boxing events in Australia? A mixed methods study

OBJECTIVES: To identify facilitators and barriers to implementing an injury surveillance system for amateur boxing in Australia, and to evaluate an implementation trial of an injury surveillance system. DESIGN: Mixed methods research. METHODS: (1) Semi-structured interviews of key informants from the Australian amateur boxing community (i.e. athletes, coaches, promoters, referees, medical professionals, and boxing governing body officials) were transcribed and subjected to a reflexive thematic analysis. (2) Implementation trial of an injury surveillance system at five amateur boxing events in Australia was evaluated using the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance framework indicators; however, the maintenance domain was not evaluated. RESULTS: Three primary themes were generated in the reflexive thematic analysis: (1) value of data, which included sub-themes on growing the sport, improving athlete performance, and informing educational activities; (2) trust, which was engendered by a strong sense of rapport and connection between the boxing community and the research team; and (3) barriers to implementation, which included sub-themes on fear, resistance to change, and process requirements. The implementation trial involved five amateur boxing events, which comprised a total of 210 registered athletes, of which 181 were eligible to participate in this research. The reach indicator was 81 %, the four effectiveness indicators ranged from 86 % to 100 %, the adoption indicator was 100 %, and implementation indicator was 100 %. CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to implement an injury surveillance system and obtain good-quality data in the amateur boxing setting in Australia, but there are potential barriers to implementation at scale.