British Journal of Sports Medicine

Does a peer to peer learning technology integrated workshop facilitate neuromuscular training injury prevention program coach learning?

Background: Workshops are used to educate coaches on Neuromuscular Training (NMT) warm-ups to reduce the risk of youth sport injury. Currently, there is no research assessing different learningstrategies and its influence on coaches‚ self-efficacy and knowledge after attending a workshop.

Objective: To evaluate whether a peer-to-peer (P2P) learning technology integrated workshop, improved coaches‚ self-efficacy and ability to identify NMT exercise errors compared to a standard workshop.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Youth soccer clubs in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Participants: Eighty-five recreational youth soccer coaches.

Intervention: Coaches within each club randomly attended one of two workshops offered to learn a NMT warm-up: the intervention workshop (technology-integrated instruction), or control workshop (standard instruction).

Main Outcome Measures: At the end of the workshop, the soccer NMT warm-up exercise test, a video-based test where coaches identify common NMT exercise errors, was completed. At the beginning and end of the workshop, the soccer NMT warm-up self-efficacy scale was completed to assess coaches, self-efficacy changes in their ability to identify NMT exercises errors on a 7-point Likert scale.

Results: Mean NMT warm-up exercise test scores were 72% (SD: 13%) for the control and 71% (SD: 13%) for the intervention workshop. Mean change in NMT warm-up self-efficacy scores were 0.98 (SD: 1.33) for the control and 1.77 (SD: 1.19) for the intervention workshop. Multivariable linear regression analyses indicated that workshop delivery method was not associated with the exercise test score (b= - 3.45, 95% CI: -10.80 to 3.91, R2=0.13) but was associated with a greater difference in change of self-efficacy scores for the intervention workshop (b= 0.97, 95% CI: 0.26 to 1.89, R2=0.13).

Conclusions: A P2P learning technology integrated instructional workshop did not differentially impact coaches‚ ability to identify exercise errors, but it did increase coaches‚ self-efficacy in identifying exercise errors compared to a standard workshop.