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A systematic review of interventions to increase awareness of mental health and well-being in athletes, coaches and officials
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: The aim of the current study was to conduct a systematic review determining the effect of sport-specific mental health awareness programs to improve mental health knowledge and help-seeking among sports coaches, athletes and officials. The second aim was to review the study quality and to report on the validity of measures that were used to determine the effectiveness of programs. METHODS: Sport-specific mental health awareness programs adopting an experimental or quasi-experimental design were included for synthesis. Six electronic databases were searched: PsycINFO, MEDLINE (OVID interface), Scopus, Cochrane, CINAHL and SPORTDiscus. Each database was searched from its year of inception to October 2016. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane and QATSQ tools. RESULTS: Ten studies were included from the 1216 studies retrieved: four comprising coaches or service providers, one with officials, four with athletes, and one involved a combination of coaches and athletes. A range of outcomes was used to assess indices of mental health awareness and well-being. Mental health referral efficacy was improved in six studies, while three reported an increase in knowledge about mental health disorders. However, seven studies did not report effect sizes for their outcomes, limiting clinically meaningful interpretations. Furthermore, there was substantial heterogeneity and limited validity in the outcome measures of mental health knowledge and referral efficacy. Seven studies demonstrated a high risk of bias. CONCLUSIONS: Further, well-designed controlled intervention studies are required. Researchers, practitioners and policy makers should adhere to available methodological guidance and apply the psychological theory of behaviour change when developing and evaluating complex interventions. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42016040178.
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“However, no review has focused on athletes’ MHL programmes to enhance help-seeking.”
From Mental health literacy intervention on help-seeking in athletes: a systematic review (2020) · cites this paper as [23]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Breslin, G., Shannon, S., Haughey, T., Donnelly, P., & Leavey, G.
- Affiliations
- University of Ulster (GB)
- Sport Ireland (IE)
- Corresponding author
- Shannon, Stephen
- Venue
- Systematic Reviews
- Published
- 2017-08-31
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 177-177
- ISSN
- 2046-4053 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5579872
- OpenAlex
- W2751258775
- Cited by
- 239
- References
- 83
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 31 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 36 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 3.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Systematic Reviews (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Ulster University Research Portal (Ulster University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- The project was funded by Sport Northern Ireland and Ulster University’s PhD Challenge Fund.
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Assessments
- Keywords
- mental health awareness, mental health promotion, athletes, sports coaches, sports officials, help-seeking, mental health knowledge, mental health referral, well-being, behaviour change interventions, intervention validity, risk of bias
- MeSH terms
- Mentoring, Awareness, Mental Disorders, Humans, Mental Health, Sports, Athletes
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