Table 2 Clubs that responded positively on the modified Sports Safety Audit Tool policy items

Policy items	Item score	Baseline			Post-season follow-up			12-month follow-up
Policy items	Item score	Inter (%) (n = 32)	Control (%) (n = 44)	p Value	Inter (%) (n = 27)	Control (%) (n = 40)	p Value	Inter (%) (n = 27)	Control (%) (n = 40)	p Value
A documented sports safety/risk-management policy	5	22	29	0.453	63	25	0.002*	89	35	<0.001*
A current documented sports safety plan	2	16	11	0.587	41	17	0.035*	74	12	<0.001*
Current sports safety plan includes:
Safety priorities	1	19	14	0.546	33	5	0.002*	74	7	<0.001*
Individual responsibilities	1	19	11	0.366	37	10	0.008*	59	7	<0.001*
Time frames	1	9	4	0.402	30	10	0.040*	48	2	<0.001*
Review process	1	19	16	0.745	30	5	0.006*	67	0	<0.001*
A documented policy on:
Emergency action/severe injury	0.5	37	41	0.764	59	37	0.080	59	40	0.122
Head injuries	0.5	16	20	0.592	33	22	0.326	52	20	0.006*
Preparticipation health screening	0.5	25	23	0.818	22	25	0.794	52	15	0.001*
Blood rule†	0.5	62	75	0.242	74	70	0.717	78	40	0.002*
Infectious diseases – other than “blood rule”?	0.5	25	11	0.119	41	25	0.173	67	50	0.177
Sun protection	0.5	25	23	0.818	44	30	0.226	48	17	0.007*
Qualifications of referees	0.5	31	23	0.405	26	10	0.084	22	25	0.794
First-aiders/sports trainers at competition	0.5	3	16	0.073	11	17	0.472	22	12	0.292
First-aiders/sports trainers at training	0.5	0	7	0.132	4	5	0.801	7	2	0.341
Safety inspection of home ground facilities	0.5	19	23	0.675	41	27	0.258	63	17	<0.001*
Safety inspection of playing surfaces before competition	0.5	44	32	0.287	44	35	0.436	70	32	0.002*
Safety inspection of playing surfaces before training	0.5	16	18	0.770	33	20	0.219	37	17	0.071
Wearing/use of protective equipment during competition	0.5	100	93	0.132	96	90	0.336	100	97	0.408
Wearing/use of protective equipment during training	0.5	87	79	0.363	89	77	0.233	96	80	0.055
Participation of players under the influence of alcohol	0.5	41	34	0.560	41	25	0.173	89	50	0.001*
Drugs in sport	0.5	25	32	0.518	41	22	0.110	44	30	0.226
Code of conduct/fair play policy for players	0.5	97	95	0.754	96	97	0.776	96	97	0.776
Code of conduct for people attending competitions	0.5	100	91	0.080	96	97	0.776	100	97	0.408
Modified rules for juniors	0.5	97	93	0.477	96	95	0.801	96	85	0.138
Child protection	0.5	97	89	0.188	100	95	0.238	96	92	0.520
Pregnant players	0.5	47	29	0.122	41	30	0.364	48	32	0.197
Adverse weather and safety	0.5	66	52	0.244	59	40	0.122	78	52	0.036*
Other documented safety policy‡	0.5§	0.25	0.33	0.397	0.46	0.32	0.249	0.70	0.12	<0.001*

Inter, intervention.
Explanation of the “blood rule”: a player who is bleeding or who has blood on himself or his clothes is required to leave the ground and receive medical attention. The player is not allowed to return to play until the bleeding has ceased and any blood has been completely removed from the player and their clothes.
*Significance set at p<0.05 with 95% CI. ‡Mean score and p value for independent samples t test (the χ² test was used to generate the other p values). §Out of a maximum score of 1.5.
Data are positive responses.