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Perspectives on injuries in snowboarders

Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds LS6 3QS, UK, j.mckenna{at}leedsmet.ac.uk

Claire Hammond

Bath & North East Somerset PCT, St Martins Hospital, Clara Cross Lane, Bath BA2 5RP, UK, claire.hammond{at}banes-pct.nhs.uk

Aims: Adopting effective injury prevention practices continues to be problematic within snowboarding and the participation of older individuals is associated with an appreciable injury burden. The Haddon Matrix provides an important framework for developing injury prevention interventions. Since prevention behaviour must `fit' within individual aspirations, our study investigated the meanings and behaviours associated with snowboarding and injury prevention and then applied the findings to the established Haddon Matrix approach.

Methods: Nine, older adult recreational participants living in south-west England each contributed two interviews. These progressively focused on experiences and reflections. Verbatim transcripts were analysed and interpreted using the hermeneutic phenomenological themes of time, space, body and human relations. A further wave of analysis reinterpreted the findings in relation to the Haddon Matrix.

Findings: Snowboarding was conducted within a holiday when participants were seeking happiness by positively re-evaluating their lives. In a frame of connection-and-disconnection , beginners (time) were concerned with being-on the slopes (body and space), while more experienced (body and time) participants blended this with being-in the mountains (space). Snowboarding is a bumps-and-bruises activity and this guided the limited prevention practices. Importantly, all prevention practices were time-limited, due to a concern for learning-by-doing within a holiday. At home, more experienced boarders paid careful attention to fitness, whereas in the resorts they actively selected the soft, off-piste areas and wore protective clothing to cushion their inevitable falls. Group experiences were associated with heightened injury risks. Being seen and judged by others helped to determine the quality of the snowboarding experience. Treatment was avoided for all but the most severe injuries.

Conclusion: The findings confirm the exploratory value of mixing van Manen's four-dimensional approach with Haddon's well-established injury prevention framework. The diverse subjective meanings associated with snowboarding limit the potential for prevention approaches and suggest that resort-based `injury control' may be more appropriate for addressing the spectrum of prevention in older snowboarders.

Key Words: Haddon Matrix • injury prevention • qualitative research • snowboarders

The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, Vol. 127, No. 4, 181-189 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1466424007079489


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