Burden of Sport Injuries in the European Union - Safety in Sports

2.3 To assess the health burden of sport injuries
11
2 | February 2012
Main objective of the present report is to assess the magnitude of sport injuries and
their health and economic burden in the European Union of currently 27 countries. It
addresses policy and decision makers in the areas of public health and sport, at
Community as well as national level, with the intention of providing them with estimates
about frequency, severity, and cost of sport injuries as well as about its distribution
over the different sports and population groups. Also key persons in the
areas of sport and public health should be well aware of the decrementing effect of
sport injuries on health and the economic dimension of these unwanted side-effects
of an inherently healthy and productive sector. The report is to illustrate the fact, that
not only physical inactivity but also physical activity implies health risks, and that
both risks needs to be tackled in order to maximize the health enhancing effect of
sport. Key figures shall facilitate the understanding for the benefits of enhanced injury
prevention.
2.4 To develop a methodology for routine application
Pre-requisite to such calculations is the development of a methodology for monitoring
sport injuries which is based on widely available health statistics, as mortality
statistics, hospital discharge statistics, and surveys in emergency departments. Such a
methodology makes it possible to compare the health burden to various countries,
types of sports, and population groups, as well as the development of this burden of
the time. Also, the injury risks of the sport sector shall get comparable with other
main sectors as school, home, road, or workplace. The intention of this approach is to
make best use of available data sources and to demonstrate the usability of existing
surveillance systems. As it is based on cost units like hospital days and ambulatory
treatments, also a comparison with the estimated health gains due to physical activity
will be facilitated. In principle, the methodology can be applied at EU level as well
as in an increasing number of EU Member States, promising comparable figures and
indicators in the future. Comparisons between countries and various types of sport
can be powerful motivators for enhancing injury prevention.
Figures describing sport injury risks shall be also comparable with those describing
other health problems like cancer or cardio-vascular diseases. Much is known about
characteristics, circumstances, and consequences of sport injury risks, but most studies
focus on specific types of sport or are confined to one country, but a challenge is
to make risks comparable. Health and cost indicators shall be comparable over countries.
Comparing vital performance indicators (benchmarking) is one of the success
strategies of the European Union, as differences are a highly effective motives for
doing better, no matter if budget deficit or unemployment rate, health care costs or