The impact of infographics on disseminating sport psychology resources to athletes

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v18i3.867

Keywords:

Knowledge Translation, Sport, Effectiveness, Knowledge Products, Psychological Skills

Abstract

Background: Effective knowledge dissemination is critical for ensuring that research findings reach their intended audiences and inform practice. In sport psychology, there is a growing call for improved strategies to bridge the research-to-practice gap. Infographics, which visually synthesize key concepts, are a promising tool for engaging athletes and enhancing knowledge retention. Despite their growing use across fields, their effectiveness in sport psychology remains underexplored. Purpose: This study evaluated the impact of a sport psychology infographic on athletes’ knowledge comprehension and retention. Methods: A two-part research design including a cross-sectional survey and a longitudinal follow-up was employed: (Part 1) participants assessed the infographic’s visual appeal, content quality, and persuasiveness as well as reported their intention to seek additional resources and share the infographic; (Part 2) a subset of participants completed a follow-up survey one month later to assess knowledge retention. Results: Most participants were satisfied with the infographic’s visual appearance (71.7%) and demonstrated a high level of content understanding (75.5%). A majority expressed intentions to seek additional resources (73.8%), share the infographic (65.5%), and implement the information provided (55.2%). A Friedman’s test revealed significant differences in the sequence of recalled information compared to the original infographic layout, N = 13, χ² (5) = 25.703, p = .001. Conclusions: These findings support the use of infographics as an effective knowledge translation product in sport psychology, with positive outcomes in athlete engagement, comprehension, and retention.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211.

Basco, R. O. (2020). Effectiveness of science infographics in improving academic performance among sixth grade pupils of one laboratory school in the Philippines. Research in Pedagogy, 10(2), 313-323. https://doi.org/10.5937/IstrPed2002313B

Christina, R. W. (1989). Whatever happened to applied research in motor learning? In J. S. Skinner, C. B. Corbin, D. M. Landers, P. E. Martin, & C. L. Wells (Eds.), Future directions in exercise and sport science research (pp. 411-422). Human Kinetics.

Coyne, P., Ely, F. O., Fiala, J., Munroe-Chandler, K. J., & Woodruff, S. J. (2021). Effectiveness of infographics at disseminating health information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health & Fitness Journal of Canada, 14(4), 3-9. https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i4.367

Dean, F., Kavanagh, E., Wilding, A., & Rees, T. (2022). An examination of the experiences of practitioners delivering sport psychology services within English Premier League soccer academies. Sports, 10(60), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports10040060

Dunlap, J. C., & Lowenthal, P. R. (2016). Getting graphic about infographics: Design lessons learned from popular infographics. Journal of Visual Literacy, 35(1), 42-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/1051144X.2016.1205832

Ely, F. O., Munroe-Chandler, K. J., Loughead, T. M., & Martin, J. J. (2024). Designing an online psychological skills training program for para-athletes. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 15(2), 99-114. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2023.2219639

Ely, F. O., Munroe-Chandler, K. J., O. J., & McCullagh, P. (2020). The practice of imagery: A review of 25 Years of applied sport imagery recommendations. Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity, 15(1), 20200018. https://doi.org/10.1515/jirspa-2020-0018

Ely, F. O., O. J., & Munroe-Chandler, K. J. (2021). How intervention research designs may broaden the research-to-practice gap in sport psychology. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 12(2), 101-113. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2020.1798573

Ely, F. O., Paré, M. A., D’Agostino, S. A., & Munroe-Chandler, K. J. (2023). The sequence of basic mental skills: A guide for psychological skills training. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 14(1), 40-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2022.2104978

Fullagar, H. H. K., McCall, A., Impellizzeri, F. M., Favero, T., & Coutts, A. J. (2019). The translation of sport science research to the field: A current opinion and overview on the perceptions of practitioners, researchers, and coaches. Sports Medicine, 49(12), 1817-1824. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01139-0

Goodyear-Smith, F., Arroll, B., Chan, L., Wells, S., & Kenealy, T. (2008). Patients prefer pictures to numbers to express cardiovascular benefit from treatment. Annals of Family Medicine, 6(3), 213-217. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.795

Gould, D. (2016). Conducting impactful coaching science research: The forgotten role of knowledge integration and dissemination. International Sport Coaching Journal, 3(2), 197–203. https://doi.org/10.1123/iscj.2015-0113

Graham, I. D., Logan, J., Harrison, M. B., Straus, S. E., Tetroe, J., Caswell, W., & Robinson, N. (2006). Lost in knowledge translation: Time for a map? The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 26(1), 13-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/chp

Grimshaw, J. M., Eccles, M. P., Lavis, J. N., Hill, S. J., & Squires, J. E. (2012). Knowledge translation of research findings. Implementation Science, 7(50), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-7-50

Holt, N. L., Pankow, K., Tamminen, K. A., Strachan, L., MacDonald, D. J., Fraser-Thomas, J., Côté, J., & Camiré, M. (2018). A qualitative study of research priorities among representatives of Canadian Provincial Sport Organizations. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 36, 8-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.01.002

Lafrenière, D., Menuz, V., Hurlimann, T., & Godard, B. (2013). Knowledge dissemination interventions: A literature review. SAGE Open, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013498242

IBM Corp. (2024). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows (Version 29.0.2.0) [Software]. IBM Corp.

Leggat, F. J., Wadey, R., Day, M. C., Winter, S., & Sanders, P. (2023). Bridging the know-do gap using integrating knowledge translation and qualitative inquiry: A narrative review. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, 15(2), 188-201. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2021.1954074

Martens, R. (1979). About smocks and jocks. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1(2), 94-99. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsp.1.2.94

Martin, L. J., Turnquist, A., Groot, B., Huang, S. Y. M., Kok, E., Thoma, B., van Merriënvoer, J. G. (2019). Exploring the role of infographics for summarizing medical literature. Health Professions Education, 5(1), 48-57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hpe.2018.03.005

McCrorie, A. D., Donnelly, C., & McGlade, K. J. (2016). Infographics: Healthcare communication for the digital age. The Ulster Medical Journal, 85(2), 71-75.

McCullagh, P. (1998). What is the applied in applied sport psychology?: The role of integration. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 10, S1-S10.

Muir, I. L., & Munroe-Chandler, K. J. (2020). Using infographics to promote athletes’ mental health: Recommendations for sport psychology consultants. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 11(3), 143-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/21520704.2020.1738607

Munroe-Chandler, K. J., & Hall, C. (2020). Sport psychology interventions. In P. R. E. Crocker, C. Sabiston, & M. McDonough (Eds.). Sport and exercise psychology: A Canadian perspective (4th ed.).

Munroe-Chandler, K. J., & Hall, C. (2025). Sport psychology interventions. In P. R. E. Crocker, C. Sabiston, & M. McDonough (Eds.), Sport and exercise psychology: A Canadian perspective (5th ed., pp. 135-159).

Murray, S. (2021). Accessible research dissemination through data visualization: Promising practices for the creation of infographics. UBC Open Collections, 1-30. https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0402361

Ozdamli, F., Kocakoyun, S., Sahin, T., & Akdag, S. (2016). Statistical reasoning of impact of infographics on education. Procedia Computer Science, 102, 370-377.

Partl, L., Hussein, B. (2024). Overcoming barriers to effective design-thinking workshops. Procedia Computer Science, 239, 1272-1279.

Schaillée, H., Spaaij, R., Jeanes, R., Theeboom, M. (2019). Knowledge translation practices, enablers, and constraints: Bridging the research-practice divide in sport management. Journal of Sport Management, 33, 366-378. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2018-0175

Schubbe, D., Scalia, P., Yen, R. W., Saunders, C. H., Cohen, S., Elwyn, G., van den Muijsenbergh, M., & Durand, M-A. (2020). Using pictures to covey health information: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects on patient and consumer health behaviors and outcomes. Patient Education and Counseling, 103(1), 1935-1960. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2020.04.010

Smiciklas, M. (2012). The power of infographics: Using pictures to communicate and connect with your audiences. Que Publishing.

Straus, S. E., Tetroe, J., & Graham, I. D. (2013). Introduction knowledge translation: What it is and what it isn’t. In S. E. Straus, J. Tetroe, & I. D. Graham (Eds.), Knowledge translation in health care. John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118413555.ch01

Thoma, B., Murray, H., Ming Huang, S. Y., Milne, W. K., Martin, L. J., Bond, C. M., Mohindra, R., Chin, A., Yeh, C. H., Sanderson, W. B., & Chan, T. M. (2017). The impact of social media promotion with infographics and podcasts on research dissemination and readership. Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, 20(2), 300-306. https://doi.org/10.1017/cem.2017.394

Vealey, R. S. (2024). A framework for mental training in sport: Enhancing mental skills, wellbeing, and performance. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 36(2), 284-365. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2023.2274459

Wang, Z., Wang, S., Farinella, M., Murray-Rust, D., Riche, N. H., & Bach, B. (2019). Comparing effectiveness and engagement of data comics and infographics. CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300483

Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (2023). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology (8th ed.). Human Kinetics.

Zhang, X., Rogers, M., & Werthner, P. (2024). Exploring a practitioner-athlete relationship and facilitated learning throughout a psychological skills training program. Frontiers in Psychology, 25, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1354129

Downloads

Published

2025-09-30

How to Cite

D'Agostino-Pinto, S., Ely, F., Paré, M., & Munroe-Chandler, K. (2025). The impact of infographics on disseminating sport psychology resources to athletes. The Health & Fitness Journal of Canada, 18(3), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v18i3.867

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 3 (2025)

Section

ARTICLES

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Samantha A. D'Agostino-Pinto, Frank O. Ely, Melissa A. Paré, Krista J. Munroe-Chandler

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Terms of Publication

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the Health & Fitness Journal of Canada’s right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
  • The Contributor (author(s)) represents and guarantees that the Contributor is the sole proprietor of the work and the Contributor has full power to make this Agreement and grant that the work does not infringe the copyright or other proprietary right of any other person; and the work contains no libellous or other unlawful matter and makes no improper invasion of the privacy of any other person. The Contributor also represents and is responsible for the accuracy of the work.
  • The Contributor will read, correct, and return promptly galleys and page proofs to the Editor (or designate). The Contributor will be responsible for the completeness and accuracy of these corrections. If the Contributor does not return galleys and page proofs within the schedule agreed upon with the Editor (or designate), the Publisher may proceed without the Contributor corrections.
  • When applicable, the Contributor agrees to obtain written permissions and letters of agreement for all matter contained in the work that is protected by existing copyright, paying any permission fees for the use of text or illustrations controlled by others, and furnishing the Publisher with written evidence of the copyright owner’s authorization to use the material.
  • When applicable, the Contributor agrees to obtain written permission for inclusion of any photographic materials involving a human subject, and provide the Publisher with written evidence of the subject’s authorization to use this material. In the case of subjects who have not reached the age of majority, the Contributor agrees to obtain and furnish the Publisher with written permission from the parent and/or legal guardian.
  • The Contributor may draw on and refer to material in the work in preparing other articles for publication in scholarly and professional journals and papers for delivery at professional meetings, provided that credit is given to the work and to the Publisher.
  • This agreement may not be changed unless the Contributor and the Publisher agree to the change by means of a formal addendum signed by the Contributor and the Publisher’s representative.
  • This agreement shall be construed and governed according to the laws of the province of British Columbia and shall be binding upon the parties hereto, their heirs, successors, assigns, and personal representatives. Should any formal proceedings related to this agreement be brought, such formal proceeding may be brought only in the province of British Columbia.

By submitting an article to the Health & Fitness Journal of Canada the Contributor has accepted and agreed to all terms outlined in the copyright notice.