Economic impact of a regulation imposing full-face protectors on adult recreational hockey players

Abstract

In 1988, the Government of Quebec adopted a regulation imposing the use of a full-face protector ( FFP) on the 100,000 adult recreational ice hockey players of the province. After one year of enforcement, the FFP use rate increased from 25% to 88%. Compliancy rates then dropped steadily to reach 76% by 1993. Based on those rates and on epidemiological data on facial injuries, health care costs and efficiency of FFPs in preventing such injuries, it was estimated that the regulation resulted so far in a net saving of $1.9 million in health care costs alone. The savings/cost ratio for the regulation is 1.87:1. If the regulation had imposed a visor instead of a full-face protector, the net savings in health care costs for the same period would have been only $96,277, for a savings/cost ratio of 1.04:1. If no regulation had been adopted at all, it is estimated that voluntary use of FFPs would have resulted in $665,912 of savings while voluntary use of visors would have resulted in a saving of $497,023. It is concluded that a governmental regulation imposing the use of FFPs on adult recreational players was economically justifiable

Keywords:

• ice hockey
• protective equipment
• cost-savings analysis
• Quebec

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Notes on contributors

Guy Régnier

Correspondence to: Guy Régnier, Ph. D. Conseil d'évaluation des technologies de la santé Tour de la Bourse 42c Étage 800, Place Victoria, C.P. 215 Montréal (Québec) H4Z 1E3, Tel.:+i-[phone], Fax.:+I-(5I4) 873-1369