# Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Sports-Injury Prevention and Management Among Athletes and Coaches: A Cross-Sectional Study

## TL;DR

A study in India found that athletes and coaches have positive attitudes toward sports injury prevention but lack basic knowledge, especially in first aid and management.

## Contribution

The study identifies a disconnect between positive attitudes and limited knowledge among athletes and coaches regarding sports injury prevention and management.

## Key findings

- Participants showed positive attitudes but limited knowledge, especially in first aid and management.
- Greater knowledge among athletes was associated with more favorable attitudes, but not among coaches.
- Knowledge gaps persisted across age, gender, and experience levels.

## Abstract

Introduction

Participation in sports benefits health and well-being, yet preventable injuries remain a common occurrence. We assessed the knowledge and attitudes of athletes and coaches regarding sports-injury prevention and management, and examined whether greater knowledge is associated with more favorable attitudes.

Method

We conducted a cross-sectional survey of athletes and coaches recruited by convenience sampling from sports complexes in Vadodara, India. Participants completed structured questionnaires assessing knowledge (scored against a predefined “satisfactory” threshold) and attitude (benchmarked as “positive”). We compared subgroup proportions for satisfactory knowledge and positive attitude using chi-square tests and evaluated the association between total knowledge and attitude scores using a two-tailed Pearson correlation, with statistical significance defined at conventional levels.

Results

Participants reported generally positive attitudes toward injury prevention; however, their knowledge was limited, particularly in areas such as basic first aid and fundamental management principles. Knowledge did not differ meaningfully across age, gender, practice frequency, injury history, or level of play. Coaches showed variable knowledge across domains. Among athletes, greater knowledge was associated with more favorable attitudes; this association was not evident among coaches.

Conclusion

Athletes and coaches endorsed prevention but demonstrated gaps in foundational knowledge. Linking education to practice appears promising, as greater knowledge among athletes is aligned with more favorable attitudes. Embedding targeted prevention content into coach education, providing structured athlete training in evidence-based first aid and safe training practices, and fostering team-wide safety culture may help translate intent into consistent preventive behavior. Future studies using broader sampling frames, validated instruments, and prospective injury surveillance can strengthen inference and guide implementation.