Game On, Down Under! Evaluating the long-term impact of parasport through the 2018 Invictus Games
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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.649Keywords:
Disability, Mental Health, Military, Sport, Well-BeingAbstract
Background: Parasport is a popular method for promoting recovery among military personnel with illness and injury. However, despite powerful anecdotal, cross-sectional, and short-term findings revealing benefits to military parasport programming, researchers have yet to determine whether benefits are maintained in the long-term, particularly in comparison to military personnel who do not participate in competitive parasport events. Purpose: To explore the long-term impact of parasport through the Invictus Games, an international parasport competition for military personnel. In particular, to compare physical and psychosocial health outcomes between Sydney 2018 Invictus Games competitors and individuals not selected for the Games. Methods: The current analysis focused on English and French-speaking military personnel from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Seventy competitors and 145 non-competitors, experiencing physical (e.g. amputation, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury) and/or psychological (e.g. depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress) illnesses and injuries, completed surveys at six time-points assessing affect, psychological well-being, life satisfaction, post-traumatic growth, and physical health. The first survey was distributed 3 months before the Sydney 2018 Invictus Games and the final survey was distributed one year after the Games. Repeated measures ANCOVA were used to compare outcomes between competitors and non-competitors. Results: Competitors demonstrated significantly better affect, psychological well-being, life satisfaction, post-traumatic growth, and general health than non-competitors (ps < .05). However, there was no difference between groups on measures of bodily pain and pain interference (ps > .05). Conclusions: Findings suggest that parasport may result in positive long-term physical and psychosocial health outcomes. However, the lack of difference between groups on pain-related outcomes needs to be further explored, particularly as pain is a common side effect of the illnesses and injuries experienced by Invictus Games competitors. Future research will also examine the impact across additional Invictus nations, as well as earlier in training to determine when differences initially emerge between groups. Funding: Study completed in partnership with the Invictus Games Foundation, with funding provided by Forces in Mind Trust, a £35 million funding scheme run by the Trust using an endowment awarded by the Big Lottery Fund.
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Copyright (c) 2021 Celina H. Shirazipour, Emily Mayhew, M. Blair Evans, Amy E. Latimer-Cheung, Alice B. Aiken
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