Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID-19 restrictions: a longitudinal study
Abstract Background Internationally, COVID-19 restrictions impacted negatively on participation in sport and physical activity. Participation in community club sport was particularly disrupted with cancelled training and competitions, and this has been shown to impact the health of individuals. We n...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21601-1 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832571230098554880 |
|---|---|
| author | Rochelle Eime Jack Harvey Melanie Charity |
| author_facet | Rochelle Eime Jack Harvey Melanie Charity |
| author_sort | Rochelle Eime |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Internationally, COVID-19 restrictions impacted negatively on participation in sport and physical activity. Participation in community club sport was particularly disrupted with cancelled training and competitions, and this has been shown to impact the health of individuals. We now need to investigate the effects of the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Aim The aim of this study was to longitudinally investigate the health of Australian adult sports club participants, during and post-COVID-19 restrictions. Methods Two waves of an online survey were conducted in mid-2020 and mid-2021. The first wave also captured retrospective pre-COVID19 (2019) data. For each year 2019–2021 each survey respondent was categorized as participating (Yes/No) in club sport. Respondents also assessed their current health (overall, physical and mental) in both 2020 and 2021. The six health assessments were cross-tabulated against three patterns of participation (dropout, dropout and return, continuation), for the survey sample overall and for six demographic subsamples: 42 crosstabulations in all. Results A total of 1,037 Australians aged 18 years and above completed both survey waves. Those who continued playing club sport throughout, and to a lesser degree those who returned to club sport in 2021, reported better physical and general health than those who dropped out. This pattern was consistent, for the overall survey sample and for the sub-samples based on gender, age and region of residence, with statistically significantly associations (p < 0.05) in 24 of 28 analyses. The pattern of club sport participation was only weakly associated with reported mental health, with only one of 14 associations being statistically significant. Conclusion Changes in club sport participation impact general and physical health of adults; continuation or return were associated with better physical and general health than drop-out. There was little evidence of an association between participation in sport and mental health, which is inconsistent with previously reported cross-sectional results; this may be due to a combination of factors, including confounding with the broader effects of the pandemic. In conclusion, it is clear that retention in participation in sport is not just important for sports management policy and strategies; it is also important for the health of individuals. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-498a5313ab4e4a01ac22d1eb82c838bd |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-498a5313ab4e4a01ac22d1eb82c838bd2025-02-02T12:46:12ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582025-01-0125111310.1186/s12889-025-21601-1Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID-19 restrictions: a longitudinal studyRochelle Eime0Jack Harvey1Melanie Charity2Physical Activity and Sport Insights, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation UniversityPhysical Activity and Sport Insights, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation UniversityPhysical Activity and Sport Insights, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation UniversityAbstract Background Internationally, COVID-19 restrictions impacted negatively on participation in sport and physical activity. Participation in community club sport was particularly disrupted with cancelled training and competitions, and this has been shown to impact the health of individuals. We now need to investigate the effects of the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Aim The aim of this study was to longitudinally investigate the health of Australian adult sports club participants, during and post-COVID-19 restrictions. Methods Two waves of an online survey were conducted in mid-2020 and mid-2021. The first wave also captured retrospective pre-COVID19 (2019) data. For each year 2019–2021 each survey respondent was categorized as participating (Yes/No) in club sport. Respondents also assessed their current health (overall, physical and mental) in both 2020 and 2021. The six health assessments were cross-tabulated against three patterns of participation (dropout, dropout and return, continuation), for the survey sample overall and for six demographic subsamples: 42 crosstabulations in all. Results A total of 1,037 Australians aged 18 years and above completed both survey waves. Those who continued playing club sport throughout, and to a lesser degree those who returned to club sport in 2021, reported better physical and general health than those who dropped out. This pattern was consistent, for the overall survey sample and for the sub-samples based on gender, age and region of residence, with statistically significantly associations (p < 0.05) in 24 of 28 analyses. The pattern of club sport participation was only weakly associated with reported mental health, with only one of 14 associations being statistically significant. Conclusion Changes in club sport participation impact general and physical health of adults; continuation or return were associated with better physical and general health than drop-out. There was little evidence of an association between participation in sport and mental health, which is inconsistent with previously reported cross-sectional results; this may be due to a combination of factors, including confounding with the broader effects of the pandemic. In conclusion, it is clear that retention in participation in sport is not just important for sports management policy and strategies; it is also important for the health of individuals.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21601-1AdultCOVID-19HealthSportRetention |
| spellingShingle | Rochelle Eime Jack Harvey Melanie Charity Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID-19 restrictions: a longitudinal study BMC Public Health Adult COVID-19 Health Sport Retention |
| title | Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID-19 restrictions: a longitudinal study |
| title_full | Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID-19 restrictions: a longitudinal study |
| title_fullStr | Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID-19 restrictions: a longitudinal study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID-19 restrictions: a longitudinal study |
| title_short | Self-assessed health of adult Australian sport club participants during and after COVID-19 restrictions: a longitudinal study |
| title_sort | self assessed health of adult australian sport club participants during and after covid 19 restrictions a longitudinal study |
| topic | Adult COVID-19 Health Sport Retention |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21601-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rochelleeime selfassessedhealthofadultaustraliansportclubparticipantsduringandaftercovid19restrictionsalongitudinalstudy AT jackharvey selfassessedhealthofadultaustraliansportclubparticipantsduringandaftercovid19restrictionsalongitudinalstudy AT melaniecharity selfassessedhealthofadultaustraliansportclubparticipantsduringandaftercovid19restrictionsalongitudinalstudy |