Defining the scope and content of mental health guidelines for community sport in Australia: A Delphi study

Regular sport participation can lead to several known physical and psychological health benefits. However, some sport environments may be contributing to the development of mental health disorders in participants. Elite sporting organisations have introduced several guidelines and positions statements to ensure psychologically safe sport environments, but these are often not applicable to the recreational sport setting. To guarantee psychologically safe sport environments for all participants, there has been an urgent call to develop mental health guidelines for recreational sport. To ensure future guidelines meet the needs of recreational sport environments, and are feasibly implemented, collaboration with experts is needed. The aim of this study was therefore to explore and synthesise the opinions of experts on the scope and content of mental health guidelines for community sport using the Delphi technique. Twenty-one experts from around Australia participated in two Delphi rounds, one qualitative and one quantitative, to reach consensus on key areas of future guidelines. Five key groupings were identified from the qualitative responses, which led to the identification of 13 key statements related to the provision of mental health promotion, prevention, and care in sport. Eight of the statements related to the role of community sport organisations in the promotion of positive mental health, and prevention of mental health problems. None of the statements were concerned with mental health care as most experts did not indicate this was the responsibility of community sport clubs. An additional five statements related to the responsibilities of the different levels of sport governance. Practical implications and future directions for the development of mental health guidelines for recreational sport are discussed.

Automated summary

Regular sport participation has physical and psychological health benefits, but some sport environments may contribute to the development of mental health disorders. To ensure psychologically safe sport environments for all participants, mental health guidelines for recreational sport are needed, and collaboration with experts is crucial.