This study saught to understand how users and providers of sport in Ontario understand and manage the links between allergic disease, the environment and physical activity. Using a place-based conceptual framework, this research investigates asthma risk perception determinants and outcomes amongst organized team sport stakeholders in Ontario. Two online surveys (coaches, n = 94; parents of athletes diagnosed with allergic disease, n = 90) were utilized. Additionally, qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews with coaches, youth athletes and their parents, regarding their perceptions of asthma and its management in organized youth team sports were conducted. Binary regression was used to investigate determinants of risk perception. Results indicated that asthma ranked seventh of 17 health hazards by coaches (23% ranked as high) and parents (34%), and determinants of risk included trigger knowledge, risk exposure, propensity for risk, indicators of trust, and socioeconomic variables (e.g., gender). As policy-makers look to manage health risks in sport, considering the risk profiles of di erent stakeholders (e.g., coaches, parents of vulnerable athletes), as well as the characteristics of the places in which risk is experienced, is critical to improving environment and health management in organized youth team sports.
CITE: Cardwell, F. S., & Elliott, S. J. (2019). Understanding an Environmental Health Risk: Investigating Asthma Risk Perception in Ontario Youth Sport. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
