{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T15:10:00Z","timestamp":1790176200469,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,2]],"date-time":"2024-12-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1733097600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"background\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The Western Australian Football League (WAFL) introduced a new umpire driven \u2018blue-card rule\u2019 for concussion, but its benefit to the sports medicine team is unknown.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"purpose\">\n                    <jats:title>Purpose<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To determine the experiences and perceptions of medical staff within the 2022-2023 Men\u2019s and Women\u2019s WAFL competitions following the introduction of the \u2018blue-card rule\u2019.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"study-design\">\n                    <jats:title>Study Design<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Cross-sectional study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"method\">\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>An online survey was delivered through Qualtrics to all WAFL medical staff (doctors, physiotherapists, head trainers). The survey contained four sections (demographics, concussion knowledge, concussion exposure and blue-card perceptions) with closed and multiple-answer questions. Standard methods for reporting descriptive data were applied, including mean \u00b1 standard deviation (SD) and proportions (%). Between-group differences were assessed using chi-square tests, and significance was accepted at p &lt;0.05.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"results\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Response rate was 48% (n=7 doctors, n=12 physiotherapists, n=12 head trainers). Most staff (70%) did not agree that the \u2018blue-card rule\u2019 was a helpful concussion policy or should remain within the WAFL. Staff also felt umpires are not qualified to identify suspected concussions on-field (67%). Over two-thirds of medical staff feel the Football Commission needs to provide education about concussion policies before the commencement of each season. Only 33% of medical staff felt completely confident in delivering a sideline assessment, and 17% felt completely confident in their diagnostic capabilities. Relationships between medical and other staff were not substantially impacted by the \u2018blue-card rule\u2019.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"conclusions\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Medical staff within the WAFL reported the \u2018blue-card rule\u2019 as an ineffective concussion identification tool and did not support its continued use for future WAFL seasons. Staff suggested that the Football Commission needs to provide more education on concussion policies before the commencement of each season.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"level-of-evidence\">\n                    <jats:title>Level of Evidence<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>3<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.26603\/001c.125794","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,30]],"date-time":"2024-11-30T19:57:18Z","timestamp":1732996638000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Introduction of the \u2018Blue Card\u2019 Concussion Policy to Semi-Elite Australian Football: Medical Staff Experiences and Perceptions"],"prefix":"10.26603","volume":"19","author":[{"given":"Jacob R","family":"Msando","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02stey378","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"The University of Notre Dame Australia","department":["School of Health Sciences"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gill","family":"Cowen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02n415q13","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Curtin University","department":["Curtin Medical School"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sarah A","family":"Harris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02stey378","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"The University of Notre Dame Australia","department":["Institute for Health Research"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Troy","family":"Kirkham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Western Australian Football Commission"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Myles C","family":"Murphy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05jhnwe22","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Edith Cowan University","department":["Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"11140","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,2]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e000655","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjsem-2019-000655","article-title":"Exploring the association between recent concussion, subconcussive impacts and depressive symptoms in male Australian Football players","volume":"6","author":"S. 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