Issue addressed Suicide rates in rural Australia are almost twice as high as those in urban areas. In rural communities, football clubs are often the ‘hub’ of the community and are being explored as an avenue to deliver mental health and well‐being promotion. The aim of this study was to explore barriers and enablers for programs promoting mental health and well‐being through rural Australian football clubs. Method This qualitative descriptive study included 12 individuals of 10 rural clubs affiliated with the South Australian National Football League. Recruitment occurred via emails to club secretaries/presidents. Semi‐structured telephone interviews explored mental health and well‐being issues experienced in clubs, previous involvement with mental well‐being programs and potential barriers/enablers for future programs. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Results Thematic analysis identified three themes encompassing barriers and enablers: (1) more than a football club, (2) attitudes towards mental health and (3) what is needed to implement a program. The third theme had subthemes of resources, importance of timing, mental health initiatives and components of a program. Conclusion Key barriers included difficulty getting people involved due to individual attitudes towards mental health, and not having the finances/resources to implement a program. Major enablers included the important role the football club serves in the community, the inclusion of speakers with credibility and making the program engaging. So what? This study identifies key factors which may impact on community engagement and program effectiveness for mental health and well‐being programs delivered via rural football clubs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.