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. 2023 Sep 21;18(9):e0278428.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278428. eCollection 2023.

FIFA football nurse - A task sharing approach in sports and exercise medicine practice in grassroots women's football in low- and middle- income settings. A study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

Nonhlanhla Sharon Mkumbuzi  1   2   3   4 , Andrew Massey  5 , Samuel Kiwanuka Lubega  6 , Ben Sorowen  7 , Enock Madalitso Chisati  8
Affiliations

FIFA football nurse - A task sharing approach in sports and exercise medicine practice in grassroots women's football in low- and middle- income settings. A study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial

Nonhlanhla Sharon Mkumbuzi et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Football (soccer) is a very popular team sport among African women and girls, with player numbers continuing to rise at all levels of the sport. Whereas the participation in football and associated injuries are on the rise, there are not enough sports and exercise medicine (SEM) personnel to attend to these women football players. While Africa may not currently have enough SEM trained medical doctors and/or physiotherapists, it has relatively higher numbers of other healthcare workers; for example, nurses, who lead healthcare services provision from community to tertiary levels. The primary objective of this study will be to compare sports medicine practices; injury prevention behaviours; injury risk parameters; incidence and prevalence of injuries and illnesses in teams with and without a Football Nurse during one competitive season in Malawi's Women's football league. This study will be a cluster randomised control trial will recruit 24 teams from the Women's Football League in Malawi, which will be randomised to either the intervention group or the control group. A cohort of 12 nurses will receive training in basic football medicine; after which they will be attached to a total of 12 women's football teams (intervention group) during one competitive season. The Football Nurses will be directly report to a physiotherapist or doctor in their district to whom they will refer serious injuries for investigations, or further management. The teams with Football Nurses will be compared to other teams that will not have Football Nurses. We expect to develop a low cost, sustainable and context relevant solution to manage the treatment gap of football injuries/illnesses in underserved communities such as women's football. Trial registration number: Pan African Clinical Trial Registry (PACTR202205481965514).

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Conflict of interest statement

AM is Director of the Medical Department at FIFA; NSM is a technical consultant for FIFA’s Women’s Football Department. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Proposed referral pathways for players with injuries or illnesses during the FIFA football nurse intervention.
Fig 2
Fig 2. FIFA football nurse recruitment strategy for participating teams in the Malawi Women’s Super league.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Schedule of enrolment and assessments for the FIFA football nurse protocol.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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