Sport during the COVID-19 bio-bubble: Wellness and opinions in South African elite football

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Abstract

Background

COVID-19 imposed challenges on professional sport, with restrictions leading to the delay in the completion of the South African Premier Soccer League (PSL). Creating a biologically safe environment (BSE) provided a solution enabling the 2019/2020 season to be completed.

Objectives

Evaluating the impact that the BSE had on player wellness and what coping mechanisms were used in the BSE.

Methods

A questionnaire was distributed to PSL teams on the final weekend in the BSE. It consisted of three validated psychology questionnaires. An additional section focused on the impact and coping strategies during the PSL’s BSE.

Results

A total of 37 completed questionnaires were analysed. General anxiety (4.7±4.2) and depression levels (4.8±3.9) were at an overall low. The health of the players, as well as separation from and concerns about family, were the greatest contributors to anxiety. Electronic communication with family and friends, social interactions with others in the BSE and time spent on self-reflection were important coping mechanisms for players. As time progressed, they adapted to the BSE.

Conclusion

The BSE did not have a negative impact on the anxiety and depression levels of the respondents, with a variety of coping mechanisms key helping them adapt in the BSE.

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Most cited references 25

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Mental health problems and social media exposure during COVID-19 outbreak

Junling Gao, Pinpin Zheng, Yingnan Jia … (2020)

Huge citizens expose to social media during a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbroke in Wuhan, China. We assess the prevalence of mental health problems and examine their association with social media exposure. A cross-sectional study among Chinese citizens aged≥18 years old was conducted during Jan 31 to Feb 2, 2020. Online survey was used to do rapid assessment. Total of 4872 participants from 31 provinces and autonomous regions were involved in the current study. Besides demographics and social media exposure (SME), depression was assessed by The Chinese version of WHO-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and anxiety was assessed by Chinese version of generalized anxiety disorder scale (GAD-7). multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify associations between social media exposure with mental health problems after controlling for covariates. The prevalence of depression, anxiety and combination of depression and anxiety (CDA) was 48.3% (95%CI: 46.9%-49.7%), 22.6% (95%CI: 21.4%-23.8%) and 19.4% (95%CI: 18.3%-20.6%) during COVID-19 outbroke in Wuhan, China. More than 80% (95%CI:80.9%-83.1%) of participants reported frequently exposed to social media. After controlling for covariates, frequently SME was positively associated with high odds of anxiety (OR = 1.72, 95%CI: 1.31–2.26) and CDA (OR = 1.91, 95%CI: 1.52–2.41) compared with less SME. Our findings show there are high prevalence of mental health problems, which positively associated with frequently SME during the COVID-19 outbreak. These findings implicated the government need pay more attention to mental health problems, especially depression and anxiety among general population and combating with “infodemic” while combating during public health emergency.

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Coping behaviors associated with decreased anxiety and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown

Miquel Fullana, Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei, Eduard Vieta … (2020)

HIGHLIGHTS • Survey of 5545 Spanish adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. • Sixty-five percent of the sample reported anxiety or depressive symptoms. • Healthy diet and not reading too many COVID-19 news predicted lower symptoms. • Following routine, hobbies and staying outdoors predicted lower depressive symptoms.

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Nowhere to hide: the significant impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) measures on elite and semi-elite South African athletes

Lervasen Pillay, Dina Janse van Rensburg, Audrey Jansen van Rensburg … (2020)

Objective To describe the perceptions of South African elite and semi-elite athletes on return to sport (RTS); maintenance of physical conditioning and other activities; sleep; nutrition; mental health; healthcare access; and knowledge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Design Cross-sectional study Methods A Google Forms survey was distributed to athletes from 15 sports in the final phase (last week of April 2020) of the level 5 lockdown period. Descriptive statistics were used to describe player demographic data. Chi-squared tests investigated significance (p < 0.05) between observed and expected values and explored sex differences. Post-hoc tests with a Bonferroni adjustment were included where applicable. Results 67% of the 692 respondents were males. The majority (56%) expected RTS after 1-6months. Most athletes trained alone (61%; p < 0.0001), daily (61%; p < 0.0001) at moderate intensity (58%; p < 0.0001) and for 30-60 min (72%). During leisure time athletes preferred sedentary above active behaviour (p < 0.0001). Sleep patterns changed significantly (79%; p < 0.0001). A significant number of athletes consumed excessive amounts of carbohydrates (76%; p < 0.0001; males 73%; females 80%). Many athletes felt depressed (52%), and required motivation to keep active (55%). Most had access to healthcare during lockdown (80%) and knew proceedings when suspecting COVID-19 (92%). Conclusions COVID-19 had physical, nutritional and psychological consequences that may impact on the safe RTS and general health of athletes. Lost opportunities and uncertain financial and sporting futures may have significant effects on athletes and the sports industry. Government and sporting federations must support athletes and develop and implement guidelines to reduce the risk in a COVID-19 environment.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): S Afr J Sports Med

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): S Afr J Sports Med

Title: South African Journal of Sports Medicine

Publisher: South African Sports Medicine Association

ISSN (Print): 1015-5163

ISSN (Electronic): 2078-516X

Publication date (Electronic, collection): 2022

Publication date (Electronic, pub): 01 January 2022

Volume: 34

Issue: 1

Electronic Location Identifier: v34i1a12528

Affiliations

[1 ]Human Movement Science, Faculty of Health Science, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa

[2 ]Wits Institute of Sports Health, Department of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

[3 ]Section Sports Medicine, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

[4 ]Supersport International, Blairgowrie, Randburg, South Africa

Author notes

Corresponding author: K Bahdur ( khatija@ 123456mandela.ac.za )

Author information

K Bahdur https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2940-6541

L Pillay https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8353-3376

Article

Publisher ID: 2078-516x-34-v34i1a12528

DOI: 10.17159/2078-516X/2022/v34i1a12528

PMC ID: 9924502

SO-VID: 1a9d3cae-9bdc-4faa-b890-30b0cd5d70e2

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Sport during the COVID-19 bio-bubble: Wellness and opinions in South African elite football

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Abstract

Background

Objectives

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Results

Conclusion

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SciELO South Africa

Most cited references 25

Mental health problems and social media exposure during COVID-19 outbreak

Coping behaviors associated with decreased anxiety and depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown

Nowhere to hide: the significant impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) measures on elite and semi-elite South African athletes

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