BACKGROUND: Numerous factors account for injury prevention or lack thereof in any team setting. With the increasing burden of injuries in women's football, and limited human resources accessible in sub-Saharan Africa, it is important to investigate the ways in which standardised injury prevention practices can be achieved. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to evaluate injury prevention knowledge, beliefs, and practices in women's football teams in the University Sport South Africa (USSA) Football League in Gauteng Province, South Africa. METHODS: A cross-sectional self-administered survey was conducted among women's football teams registered to participate in the USSA Football League in South Africa's Gauteng Province. RESULTS: A total of 107 respondents participated in the study, which included both players (n=98; 92%) and their support staff (n=9; 9%). The median (interquartile range) age of the participants was 22 (20-25) years. In the population sampled, 36% of the participants perceived that they had adequate knowledge of injury prevention practices in football, while others felt they had limited knowledge of the basic injury prevention programmes (IPPs). The results also indicated that the injury prevention practices of coaches (93%) and their beliefs in this regard (70%) are sufficient for achieving the basic injury prevention goals. Most of the respondents (89%) indicated that a medical support system is important in attaining the goals of injury prevention. CONCLUSION: Members of women's teams in the USSA Football League have recognised limited knowledge about the basic IPPs, while they do employ some of the basic injury prevention practices in football. These practices could be influenced by the beliefs of the coaches and the players, and most of them believe that IPPs are important. It is essential as key stakeholders that coaches' and players' education and knowledge of injury prevention strategies should be considered as an integral part of the process to succeed. It should be strongly highlighted and implemented, thus augmenting the credibility, trust and compliance for IPPs in the sport.

BACKGROUND: Numerous factors account for injury prevention or lack thereof in any team setting. With the increasing burden of injuries in women's football, and limited human resources accessible in sub-Saharan Africa, it is important to investigate the ways in which standardised injury prevention practices can be achieved. OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to evaluate injury prevention knowledge, beliefs, and practices in women's football teams in the University Sport South Africa (USSA) Football League in Gauteng Province, South Africa. METHODS: A cross-sectional self-administered survey was conducted among women's football teams registered to participate in the USSA Football League in South Africa's Gauteng Province. RESULTS: A total of 107 respondents participated in the study, which included both players (n=98; 92%) and their support staff (n=9; 9%). The median (interquartile range) age of the participants was 22 (20-25) years. In the population sampled, 36% of the participants perceived that they had adequate knowledge of injury prevention practices in football, while others felt they had limited knowledge of the basic injury prevention programmes (IPPs). The results also indicated that the injury prevention practices of coaches (93%) and their beliefs in this regard (70%) are sufficient for achieving the basic injury prevention goals. Most of the respondents (89%) indicated that a medical support system is important in attaining the goals of injury prevention. CONCLUSION: Members of women's teams in the USSA Football League have recognised limited knowledge about the basic IPPs, while they do employ some of the basic injury prevention practices in football. These practices could be influenced by the beliefs of the coaches and the players, and most of them believe that IPPs are important. It is essential as key stakeholders that coaches' and players' education and knowledge of injury prevention strategies should be considered as an integral part of the process to succeed. It should be strongly highlighted and implemented, thus augmenting the credibility, trust and compliance for IPPs in the sport.

BACKGROUND: The South African Rugby Union's BokSmart programme currently educates coaches and referees on concussion. Rugby players are often more familiar with their teammates than the coach or referee. Therefore they are well-positioned to play a pivotal role in rugby safety if they have adequate knowledge to identify subtle signs and abnormal behaviour displayed by a concussed teammate. However, no programme focuses on concussion education among South African rugby players and there is a dearth of literature on concussion education programmes among rugby players which could lead to safer return to play (RTP) habits OBJECTIVES: To evaluate South African rugby players' concussion knowledge and attitudes/behaviours regarding RTP following a concussion METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was used. Participants (n=294) were divided into junior amateur high school (JAHS) (n=216) and senior amateur club (SAC) (n=78) players. The modified RoCKAS-ST questionnaire was used to evaluate their concussion knowledge index (CKI) and concussion attitudes/behaviours index (CAI) regarding RTP RESULTS: On average, 62% (JAHS) and 60% (SAC) of the CKI questions were answered correctly. JAHS participants correctly identified 66% of concussion symptoms, similarly to the SAC participants (63%), rendering similar (p=0.37) overall CKI scores when comparing the two groups. The CAI questions yielded similar (p=0.98) results between the groups, reporting safe responses in 66% (JAHS) and 67% (SAC) of the items DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Junior and senior South African amateur rugby players lacked approximately one-third of essential concussion knowledge, which may lead to a display of unsafe attitudes/behaviours to concussion and RTP. Further research is warranted to inform educational programmes on concussion among rugby players.

Diversos fatores interferem no desempenho e na vida-útil do revestimento refratário em unidades de calcinação de alumina. O desconhecimento das melhores práticas de seleção e qualificação dos materiais para esta aplicação foi a força motriz para este trabalho. Foram caracterizados dois materiais comerciais aplicados por projeção (um via wet-shotcrete e outro por dry-gunning), indicados para o revestimento refratário dos vasos e dutos de calcinadores de alumina. Tais técnicas são importantes, uma vez que reduzem o tempo de aplicação e o lucro cessante da unidade. Os materiais em análise foram submetidos a baterias de testes laboratoriais, os quais seguem normas técnicas internacionais. Os ensaios foram divididos segundo a representatividade das solicitações que ocorrem no revestimento em operação, e os resultados obtidos foram usados para avaliar o seu potencial desempenho. O embasamento técnico e científico utilizado neste trabalho pôde orientar o desenvolvimento, a seleção e a aplicação de novas cerâmicas refratárias para o revestimento interno de calcinadores, com o objetivo de elevar a vida-útil, a disponibilidade e a confiabilidade das unidades, possibilitando diminuir o custo com manutenções.

Several aspects are important to define the working life of refractory lining for alumina calcinations units. The lack of knowledge of the best selection practices and qualification of the materials for this application have been the driving force of this work. Two commercial materials applied by projection (wet-shotcrete and dry-gunning) were characterized. Both are usual standards of refractories for lining vessels and pipes of alumina fluid-flash calciners. All the materials analyzed were submitted to laboratorial tests, which follow international technical standards. The tests were divided in indispensable, necessary and occasional, according to the importance of the solicitations of the refractory lining under operation. The technical and scientific knowledge applied in this work can guide the development, the selection and the application of new refractory castables for the internal lining of alumina fluid-flash calciners, increasing their working life, productivity and the reliability of the units, and reducing the maintenance costs.