A pilot study assessing the preliminary efficacy and acceptability of a mental health promotion e-learning module for sports coaches

ABSTRACT

The study aim was to evaluate the preliminary efficacy and acceptability of an e-learning module to increase sports coaches’ mental health literacy and intention to engage in mental health promotion. Thirty-five coaches completed measures at baseline and 1-week follow-up. Mixed methods were used to assess the acceptability of the module, including interviews with 15 coaches. Coaches’ knowledge, confidence and intention to engage in mental health promotion increased at 1-week follow-up. Coaches found the module to be acceptable with the content perceived to be informative, the design visually appealing, and the module realistic to be implemented more broadly within their sport.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the mental health promotion team in Jigsaw, National Centre for Youth Mental Health, who developed the materials for the One Good Coach module. The authors would like to thank the management teams of the Irish Rugby Football Union and Swim Ireland and Michael McGeehin, Sport Ireland Coaching Director for their support of this study.

Author contributions

JM led the conception and design of the study, contributed to data collection and analysis and drafted the manuscript. AB contributed to the conception and design of the study and data collection and helped to critically revise the manuscript. LR contributed to data collection and analysis and helped to critically revise the manuscript. CB contributed to the analysis of the data and helped to critically revise the manuscript. TMcG contributed to the conception and design of the study and helped to critically revise the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [JM], upon reasonable request https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/ data-sharing/share-your-data/data-availability-statements/? _gl=1*e2k875*_ga*NzI0MjA5NzU2LjE2ODE2NTIwMjA.*_ga_0HYE8YG0M6*MTY4MjU0Mzc5Mi42MS4xLjE2ODI1NDQzODYuMC4wLjA.&_azuyYUejkCy1Hco5wQAaAieREALw_wcB.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02739615.2023.2207831.

Additional information

Funding

This study received no funding.