Table 1

Implementation drivers, their purpose and how they could be used to facilitate the widespread and high-fidelity implementation of an evidence-based coach-delivered lower limb injury prevention programme in community Australian Football

Implementation driverHow implementation driver could be used in a sports injury prevention intervention by
Purpose of implementation driverCommunity clubsSports governing bodies
Competency
 SelectioinSelect practitioners with the ‘capacity to deliver’—knowledge, skills, qualifications and personal qualities—the evidence-based intervention (EBI)Include willingness and potential capacity to deliver the EBI as a coaching pre-requisiteProvide clubs with guidelines and training on effective coach selection and recruitment processes, including EBI-specific component
 TrainingEnsure practitioners know when, where, how and with whom to use the EBIRequire coaches to attend EBI delivery trainingIntegrate EBI delivery training into mandatory coaching accreditation processes
 CoachingEnsure practitioners can actually deliver the EBI to target audience in the real-world contextAppoint an EBI champion to mentor all other coachesInclude ‘follow-up/observation’ into mandatory coach accreditation processes
 Perfomance assessmentMeasure actual EBI delivery performance of practitionersHave EBI ‘champion’ regularly conduct EBI delivery audit and feedback for all coachesIntegrate EBI delivery assessment into mandatory coach re-accreditation process
Organisational
 Systems interventionsAlign external systems (funding, political agendas, community expectations, media, etc) to support EBI implementationReview (eg, through pre, mid and end of season key stakeholder surveys) and up-date regularly their EBI-related external systems and processesReview (eg, through pre, mid and end of season key stakeholder surveys) and up-date regularly their EBI-related external systems and processes
 Facilitative administrationRemove organisational barriers to EBI implementation (e.g, culture, structures, processes, procedures and resource allocation)Review (eg, through pre, mid and end of season coach and player interviews) and update regularly their EBI-related systems and processesReview (eg, through pre, mid and end of season club and coach interviews) and up-date regularly their EBI-related systems and processes
 Decision support data systemsFacilitate continuous quality improvement by gathering and using EBI implementation process and impact dataFeedback to coaches and players on EBI-related processes (eg, % players participating) and outcomes (eg, injury surveillance and games missed through injury data)Feedback to clubs and coaches on EBI-related implementation and effectiveness at league level (eg, % coaches delivering the EBI and relationship between EBI delivery and team performance)
Leadership
 TechnicalProvide operational leadership necessary to implement the EBI once parameters are defined (eg, planning, organisation and procedures)Review operational (eg, football department, coaches, senior player and club operational plan) leadership of EBI implementationReview operational (eg, league administration, regional development officer and league operational plan) leadership of EBI implementation
 AdaptiveProvide strategic or managerial leadership for EBI implementation (eg, culture, vision, policies and resource allocation)Review strategic (e.g, club committee and club strategic plan) leadership of EBI implementationReview strategic (eg, league board and league strategic plan) and up-date regularly their EBI-related systems and processes