Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for a Masters Degree in Technology, in the Department of Chiropractic at the Durban University of Technology, 2008 / Introduction: One of the most important responsibilities of a rugby coach towards players is that of injury prevention and advice. Often these responsibilities fall solely on the coach, but sometimes he has the benefit of sports medical personnel at his service. Therefore in order for the coach to best service this sport and industry, his/her knowledge and perception of Chiropractic and other sports medical personnel is critical. Objective: To establish an understanding of Durban rugby coaches’ perceptions and knowledge of Chiropractic to formulate initiatives aimed at bridging gaps and building co-operation between coaches and various medical personnel that they have at their disposal. Methods: A survey was distributed to 149 rugby coaches within 23 high schools and 67 rugby coaches within 24 rugby clubs, resulting in a total of 219 rugby coaches in the greater Durban area received a questionnaire for completion and return. Results: Of the 85 coaches that participated (38.8% response rate), the majority were White (95%), male (99%), with a mean age of 37.36 years and coached at the amateur level (65.1%). School coaches dominated the participants with 67.1% with 61 (71.8%) having obtained a rugby coaching qualification and 26 (30.6%) having another professional sport, fitness or medical qualification besides that of rugby coaching. Most (94.9%) participants referred players to a health professional for examination and / or treatment. This included Physiotherapists, 80% of the time, GPs 70.6% of the time and Chiropractors, 60% of the time. Twenty-nine (34.1%) had a Chiropractor on their medical management team and 28 (96.6%) said it was a positive experience. Of those who did not have a Chiropractor on the team, 82.4% said they would consider it in the future. Over half (65.5%) had personally been treated by a Chiropractor. The 3 most frequent conditions associated with Chiropractic included: Disc herniation (42.6%), low back pain (36.1%) and whiplash (32.8%). Notwithstanding this outcome, the level of knowledge was low with the mean knowledge score (an aggregate knowledge score derived statistically from all questions relating to the knowledge of Chiropractic) of the group was 55.8% (SD 21.9%), even though the range varied from 0 to 96%. Although the coaches’ knowledge of Chiropractic was low, most participants (76.2%) had a favourable view of the Chiropractic profession. Furthermore the coaches perception of Chiropractic related significantly to their knowledge (p = 0.037). In addition the higher their knowledge scores the more positive their view. Conclusion: This study established what knowledge base is available that could promote rugby coaches greater understanding of the Chiropractic profession and related medical personnel. There was a positive association between increased knowledge and a better perception of Chiropractic, suggesting that if knowledge were improved, then perception and attitude towards Chiropractic and related medical personnel would further improve. This increased awareness may improve knowledge, understanding, communication and utilization with the Chiropractic profession and related medical personnel and ultimately these professions within rugby may gain a greater level of acceptance.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Technology: Chiropractic at Durban University of Technology, 2008. / Objectives: To investigate the International Sports Federations’ (IFS) perception and utilization of chiropractors and other sports medical personnel, and to compare results between the executive committees and medical commissions within federations. Methods: A specially designed, quantitative questionnaire was used to collect data from the 65 federations belonging to the General Assembly of International Federations of Sport (GAIFS). The questionnaire distribution took place via e-mail, with the secretary of each federation being requested to forward a copy of the questionnaire to a member of the federation’s executive committee and medical commission respectively. Follow-up telephone calls were also made to further encourage a response from participants. After an 8-week period, returned questionnaires were collected and data was analyzed. Results: From the results obtained (30% response rate), it would seem that perceptions vary greatly. This is most evident when one compares the perceptions of the medical commission members to those of the executive committee members. The medical commission on a whole, appears to favour the more traditional medical professions, while the executive committee seems to be more holistic in their approach to treatment options. In terms of current utilization, chiropractors are currently represented on 16% of medical teams, although chiropractors are able, within their scope of practice, to provide 70% of the federations’ most requested techniques / modalities for competitions. There appears to be little / no criteria governing the selection of medical personnel, however most of the federations agreed that a chiropractor with a post-graduate diploma in sports injuries, would be seen in a more favourable light for selection. Conclusions: The perceptions and utilization of chiropractors and other sports medical personnel varies greatly between federations, which may be due to a number of factors related to the formulation of perception itself. In addition, there appears to be a discrepancy between the opinions of the executive committees and medical commission of the participating federations.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for a Masters Degree in Technology, in the Department of Chiropractic at the Durban University of Technology, 2008 / Introduction: One of the most important responsibilities of a rugby coach towards players is that of injury prevention and advice. Often these responsibilities fall solely on the coach, but sometimes he has the benefit of sports medical personnel at his service. Therefore in order for the coach to best service this sport and industry, his/her knowledge and perception of Chiropractic and other sports medical personnel is critical. Objective: To establish an understanding of Durban rugby coaches’ perceptions and knowledge of Chiropractic to formulate initiatives aimed at bridging gaps and building co-operation between coaches and various medical personnel that they have at their disposal. Methods: A survey was distributed to 149 rugby coaches within 23 high schools and 67 rugby coaches within 24 rugby clubs, resulting in a total of 219 rugby coaches in the greater Durban area received a questionnaire for completion and return. Results: Of the 85 coaches that participated (38.8% response rate), the majority were White (95%), male (99%), with a mean age of 37.36 years and coached at the amateur level (65.1%). School coaches dominated the participants with 67.1% with 61 (71.8%) having obtained a rugby coaching qualification and 26 (30.6%) having another professional sport, fitness or medical qualification besides that of rugby coaching. Most (94.9%) participants referred players to a health professional for examination and / or treatment. This included Physiotherapists, 80% of the time, GPs 70.6% of the time and Chiropractors, 60% of the time. Twenty-nine (34.1%) had a Chiropractor on their medical management team and 28 (96.6%) said it was a positive experience. Of those who did not have a Chiropractor on the team, 82.4% said they would consider it in the future. Over half (65.5%) had personally been treated by a Chiropractor. The 3 most frequent conditions associated with Chiropractic included: Disc herniation (42.6%), low back pain (36.1%) and whiplash (32.8%). Notwithstanding this outcome, the level of knowledge was low with the mean knowledge score (an aggregate knowledge score derived statistically from all questions relating to the knowledge of Chiropractic) of the group was 55.8% (SD 21.9%), even though the range varied from 0 to 96%. Although the coaches’ knowledge of Chiropractic was low, most participants (76.2%) had a favourable view of the Chiropractic profession. Furthermore the coaches perception of Chiropractic related significantly to their knowledge (p = 0.037). In addition the higher their knowledge scores the more positive their view. Conclusion: This study established what knowledge base is available that could promote rugby coaches greater understanding of the Chiropractic profession and related medical personnel. There was a positive association between increased knowledge and a better perception of Chiropractic, suggesting that if knowledge were improved, then perception and attitude towards Chiropractic and related medical personnel would further improve. This increased awareness may improve knowledge, understanding, communication and utilization with the Chiropractic profession and related medical personnel and ultimately these professions within rugby may gain a greater level of acceptance.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master’s Degree in Technology: Chiropractic at Durban University of Technology, 2008. / Objectives: To investigate the International Sports Federations’ (IFS) perception and utilization of chiropractors and other sports medical personnel, and to compare results between the executive committees and medical commissions within federations. Methods: A specially designed, quantitative questionnaire was used to collect data from the 65 federations belonging to the General Assembly of International Federations of Sport (GAIFS). The questionnaire distribution took place via e-mail, with the secretary of each federation being requested to forward a copy of the questionnaire to a member of the federation’s executive committee and medical commission respectively. Follow-up telephone calls were also made to further encourage a response from participants. After an 8-week period, returned questionnaires were collected and data was analyzed. Results: From the results obtained (30% response rate), it would seem that perceptions vary greatly. This is most evident when one compares the perceptions of the medical commission members to those of the executive committee members. The medical commission on a whole, appears to favour the more traditional medical professions, while the executive committee seems to be more holistic in their approach to treatment options. In terms of current utilization, chiropractors are currently represented on 16% of medical teams, although chiropractors are able, within their scope of practice, to provide 70% of the federations’ most requested techniques / modalities for competitions. There appears to be little / no criteria governing the selection of medical personnel, however most of the federations agreed that a chiropractor with a post-graduate diploma in sports injuries, would be seen in a more favourable light for selection. Conclusions: The perceptions and utilization of chiropractors and other sports medical personnel varies greatly between federations, which may be due to a number of factors related to the formulation of perception itself. In addition, there appears to be a discrepancy between the opinions of the executive committees and medical commission of the participating federations.

Thesis (M. Dev.) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / Recent changes in the Department of Sport and Recreation have placed new external pressures and challenges on Sport officials to change their ways of managing School Sport Mass Participation Programme in their sphere of operation. The above challenge prompted the researcher to investigate the Management and Implementation of School Sport Mass Participation Programme (SMPP) in selected secondary schools at Malamulele East Education Cluster in the Limpopo Province. The study is concerned with the development of effective strategies that will enhance the capacity of sport officials and change their perception; and that of other stakeholders on the management and implementation of the School Sport Mass Participation Programme. This study used the context of Malamulele East cluster as its spring board in engaging in the daunting subject of the School Sport Mass Participation Programme. Surely, with all the changes that are involved in the implementation of the above programme, there is a need to review the way the School Sport Mass Participation Programme should be implemented, hence this study. The literature review established the relationship between Sport Management and the implementation of School Sport Mass Participation Programme. In this regard, the study showed that managers who apply the principles of management, motivation, participation in decision making, management by objectives and delegation can enhance the management and implementation of School Sport Mass Participation Programme in the area of the study. In this study, a mixed research design approach was employed to investigate the factors that promote and hinder the management and implementation of the School Sport Mass Participation Programme in Malamulele East cluster. Both questionnaires and structured interviews were employed to collect data from the respondents. The main findings of the study confirmed that there are challenges associated with the management and implementation of the School Sport Mass Participation Programme in Malamulele East cluster. Challenges such as lack of managerial skills, clear delegation of powers, lack of clarity on policy guidelines, inadequate resources, lack of cooperation vi and shortage of financial resources hampered the successful implementation of the School Sport Mass Participation Programme in Malamulele. In conclusion, the study also led to suggestions of strategies and recommendations that can improve the management and implementation of School Sport Mass Participation Programme in Malamulele East Education Cluster in the Limpopo Province.