The role of the European Swimming Federations in the protection of athletes’ health and the promotion of health in the general population

Abstract

Objective: To determine the profile of the medical personnel, priorities and activities/researches of the European National Swimming Federations respect to the protection of their athletes’ health and their role in the promotion of health in the general population.

Method: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was circulated among the 51 European National Swimming Federations requesting information regarding the profile of the medical personnel of the federations, the importance they place on the health of their athletes, the promotion of health in their societies and about the activities/research programmes that they engage in to promote health.

Results: The results show that 58.9% of the European National Swimming Federations have doctors and 64.1% have physiotherapists. For 51.2% of federations the top priority is the performance of their elite athletes and only 10.2% of them have as a priority to improve the health of the general population. Conclusions: Overall, European National Swimming Federations have appropriate medical personal within their federation or National teams. However, they have reported that health promotion is not a top priority for them. There is a need to improve their general health promotion programmes. Plans and strategies could be implemented in order to promote health in the general population.