What do under 15 year old schoolboy rugby union players think about protective headgear

摘要: Objectives—When protective headgear is designed, the attitudes of intended users needs to be taken into account, as well safety performance criteria. The aim this study was therefore determine schoolboy rugby union players towards headgear. Methods—A survey 140 (82.4% response rate) from 10 randomly selected school teams in metropolitan Sydney conducted at end 1999 playing season. All were aged 14‐16 years. had participated a trial during season which six been assigned arm and four control arm. Players completed self report questionnaire supervised session school. collected information on recent head injuries, use equipment, Results—Some form equipment always worn by 76.1% players: 93.6% reported using mouthguard 79.3% helmet/headgear two most important reasons for wearing related concerns. with no head/neck injury more likely that they felt safer when (p<0.001) less cite previous motivating factor than those who sustained injury. Of wore season, 67% said played confidently headgear, but 63% their hotter. Few uncomfortable (15%) or it hard communicate (3%) main not its design features: (61%) hot (57%). Conclusions—The primary reason cited safety. Receiving an would also motivate non-wearers wear are confident able tackle harder if suggesting belief capabilities may influence behaviour. These need addressed eVective strategies promote use. (Br J Sports Med 2001;35:89‐94)