"From Marginalized to Centralized: The Future of Sport Illness and Injury Prevention Research” will open the programme of the 7th IOC World Conference
The opening plenary session, "From Marginalized to Centralized: The Future of Sport Illness and Injury Prevention Research," is set to take place on 29 February and will feature Dr Jonathan Drezner, Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM), and Professor Irfan Asif, Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, and Associate Dean at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“In the wake of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the British Journal of Sports Medicine is committed to using its platform to promote a healthier world,” says Drezner.
“This includes promoting the best in Sports and Exercise Medicine (SEM) science for injury and illness prevention and exemplifying principles which foster equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in research and science,” continues the Editor-in-Chief of BJSM.
The IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport has a storied history of guiding SEM research. However, it is time to move the focus from elite athlete populations in resource-rich regions to marginalised and under-represented groups who have been largely overlooked by SEM research.
BJSM is committed to centralising these marginalised groups in its research. These groups face unique health disparities that can only be addressed through contextualised research.
Studies focusing on pregnant and peri-partum athletes, athletes with disabilities, transgender athletes, athletes from low- and middle-income countries, and youth athletes are finally receiving the attention they deserve. Comprehensive injury and illness prevention research must also encompass mental health and psychological safety for these vulnerable athlete groups.
This opening session will lay out the reasoning for addressing health disparities in SEM through injury and illness prevention research. Our speakers will delve into topics such as research infrastructure, methodological development, integration of social determinants of health into both epidemiological and interventional studies, and the recognition of the intersectionality of marginalised groups. This will provide a deeper understanding of the complex factors contributing to health disparities.
With the right tools and a renewed focus on sports equity research, the speakers believe that the most significant impact of injury and illness prevention is yet to be realised. The session speakers invite our conference audience to join them on this journey towards a more inclusive and equitable future in sports medicine research.
Do you want to be in Monaco during this Opening Plenary Session? Register now: 7th IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport (olympics.com)