Categories of questions used on the survey, their alignment to the health belief model (HBM) and the Reach, Efficacy/Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework, and players' summary responses (percentage of responding players)
| Theoretical alignment | Percentage of players giving this response* | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broad category/theme | RE-AIM dimension relevant to† | HBM construct related to‡ | Strongly agree/agree | Uncertain | Strongly disagree/disagree |
| Attending a university lab for testing | |||||
| I would visit a university to test my AFL§ skills if I thought this would help me to play better | E | CA | 64.7 | 15.7 | 19.6 |
| I would visit a university to test my AFL skills if I thought this would decrease my risk of LLI | E | CA | 58.2 | 20.5 | 21.3 |
| Doing additional training outside a club setting | |||||
| I would do extra training at home if I thought it would help me to play better | E, A | CA | 87.0 | 8.4 | 4.6 |
| I would do extra training at home if I thought this would decrease my risk of LLI | E, A | CA | 71.4 | 17.0 | 11.6 |
| Beliefs about injury outcomes | |||||
| Injuries usually do not stop you missing more than one game | A | PSv | 28.8 | 20.4 | 50.8 |
| I would stop playing if I got an LLI | I | PBe | 30.4 | 29.5 | 40.1 |
| I feel under pressure to continue to play in a game when I am injured | M | PBa | 30.3 | 13.2 | 56.5 |
| Players who continue to play with LLIs are likely to suffer physical problems later in life | M | PSv | 70.7 | 22.5 | 6.8 |
| I would play with an LLI if it meant we got into the finals | M | PBa | 87.3 | 8.6 | 4.1 |
| Beliefs about injury prevention and training | |||||
| LLIs can be prevented by stricter refereeing in games | R | PBe | 10.0 | 26.4 | 63.6 |
| Attending AFL training prevents LLIs | A | PBe | 49.3 | 32.0 | 18.7 |
| LLIs can be prevented by doing specific training and exercises | E | PBe | 74.4 | 19.9 | 5.7 |
| Beliefs about injury risk | |||||
| Preventing LLIs is not a large concern for me at my level of play | A | PSu | 26.8 | 17.3 | 55.8 |
| Players do not need to be fully rehabilitated from an LLI before playing AFL again | E | PSv | 24.3 | 19.5 | 56.2 |
| Ankle injuries are more common than knee injuries in AFL | R | PSu | 29.5 | 51.2 | 19.2 |
| I would be targeted by opposition if I wore visible protective equipment | A | PBa | 31.1 | 29.7 | 39.2 |
| Lower-limb injuries in AFL are often caused by foul play | R | NA | 11.9 | 18.4 | 69.7 |
| AFL has a high risk of LLIs | R | PSu | 77.7 | 17.1 | 5.2 |
| Responsibility for injury prevention and source of knowledge | |||||
| The coach is in charge of preventing injuries at training sessions | I | SE | 13.8 | 18.2 | 68.0 |
| Team coaches/physiotherapists have taught me what I know about preventing LLIs | I | SE | 59.4 | 16.8 | 23.8 |
| Team mates have taught me what I know about preventing LLIs | I | SE | 25.9 | 21.7 | 52.4 |
| Beliefs about training | |||||
| People who train more can play harder | A | PBe | 78.4 | 7.3 | 14.3 |
| Players who do not attend training regularly get injured | A | PBe | 44.3 | 36.1 | 19.6 |
| Training should focus more on improving game performance than on preventing injuries | R, A | PBa | 64.1 | 18.9 | 17.0 |
↵* Percentage of those with valid (non-missing) responses to the question
↵† RE-AIM dimensions: R, reach; E, effectiveness; A, adoption; I, implementation; M, maintenance
↵‡ HBM constructs: CA, cues to action; NA, not applicable (not every question related to an HBM construct); Pba, perceived barriers; Pbe, perceived benefits; Psu, perceived susceptibility; PSv, perceived severity; SE, self-efficacy.
↵§ Although the name of the game is Australian Football, in New South Wales where this study was conducted it is more commonly referred to as to Australian Football League (AFL), and so that terminology was used in the survey.
LLI, lower-limb injury.