The design, development, implementation and evaluation of IRISweb; A rugby-specific web-based injury surveillance system

Abstract

ObjectivesTo describe the development, implementation and evaluation of a comprehensive injury surveillance system. DesignThe four phases;i) A survey of 58 medical professionals working in amateur rugby.ii) The design of a web-based injury surveillance system (IRISweb).iii) Recruitment of 21 of the top 58 amateur clubs to use IRISweb.iv) An evaluation survey of the 21 participating clubs. SettingIrish amateur rugby clubs. ParticipantsMedical professionals working in amateur rugby. Main outcome measuresPhase one investigated the injury monitoring practices in operation prior to the IRIS project. Phase four investigated the effectiveness and usefulness of IRISweb. ResultsTwenty-one clubs were recruited, however 2 clubs failed to provide a full season of data (10% dropout rate). Eighty-two percent of the remaining 19 clubs rated IRISweb as ‘good’ or ‘very good’. Facilitators of injury surveillance were; increased player adherence (65%) and notifications to update the system (59%), however, poor player adherence (71%) and medical staff availability (24%) were the main barriers. ConclusionsThe IRIS project is the first prospective long-term injury surveillance system in Irish amateur rugby, effectively tracking injuries to guide future evidence-based injury prevention strategies. This study highlights facilitators and barriers to injury surveillance within amateur sport.