A qualitative study of sporting club stakeholder perspectives of a Mental Fitness Charter for South Australian sport

Objective: There is growing a consensus that organised sport settings are a valuable site for mental health promotion; however, their underutilisation for such promotional efforts presents a missed opportunity. The Mental Fitness Charter for the Sport and Recreation Sectors is the first industry-wide, evidence-based, overarching initiative to guide mental health promotion and prevention in sport settings. The present study aimed to explore the perspectives of South Australian sports stakeholders in relation to the Mental Fitness Charter.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 South Australian sports stake-holders (e.g. committee members, directors, trainers). Data were analysed using inductive reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: Three key themes were developed: (1) The Mental Fitness Charter, a highly regarded concept, (2) Hallmarks of poor implementation (limited promotion, lack of leadership), and (3) Good in theory, challenging in practice (burdensome, barriers to access and uptake, practical and adaptable tools).

Conclusions: Findings indicated that the Mental Fitness Charter was highly valued, yet was limited by poor implementation, and may not be feasible for utilisation in sport settings. This study has critical implications for guiding and/or refining the development and implementation of resources to support mental health in organised sport.