{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T17:45:44Z","timestamp":1792086344897,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]],"date-time":"2026-10-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790812800000},"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:p>Athlete health surveillance is fundamental to understanding, preventing, and managing injuries, illnesses, and other health problems in sport. While standardized surveillance systems developed by organizations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have substantially advanced sports medicine globally, their applicability across diverse African sporting environments remains insufficiently examined. Many existing surveillance approaches assume the availability of trained medical personnel, robust health infrastructure, standardized documentation systems, and stable sporting environments\u2014conditions that are not readily accessible across Africa.<\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:p>The continent is not homogeneous; some countries and elite sporting programs have surveillance capacities comparable to international standards, while many others operate under significant resource constraints. This commentary aims to examine the limitations of conventional athlete health surveillance approaches in African settings and to advocate for context-sensitive, African-led surveillance systems capable of generating locally relevant evidence to inform injury prevention, health policy, and athlete welfare. Leveraging collaborations among African researchers, clinicians, universities, sports federations, healthcare organizations, and international partners offers an opportunity to develop sustainable surveillance systems while strengthening research and clinical capacity across the continent.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.26603\/001c.171307","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T17:08:42Z","timestamp":1792084122000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Surveillance of Athletes\u2019 Health in Resource-Constrained African Sports Contexts: Why Context Matters and Time To Catch Up"],"prefix":"10.26603","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Davie","family":"Mulenga","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Translational Injury Prevention Lab, Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, Doisy College of Health Sciences, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Camille","family":"Tooth","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ReFORM IOC Research Centre for Prevention of Injury and Protection of Athlete Health."},{"name":"Luxembourg Institute of Research in Orthopedics, Sports Medicine and Science (LIROMS), Luxembourg, Luxembourg."},{"name":"Department of Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation and Sports Traumatology, SportS\u00b2, FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence, FIMS Collaborative Centre of Sports Medicine, CHU de Li\u00e8ge, Li\u00e8ge, Belgium."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pascal","family":"Edouard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Biologie de la Motricit\u00e9 (EA 7424), Universit\u00e9 Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Lyon 1, Universit\u00e9 Savoie Mont-Blanc, Saint-\u00c9tienne, France"},{"name":"Department of Clinical and Exercise Physiology, Sports Medicine Unity, Saint-Etienne University Hospital, Saint-\u00c9tienne, France"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ummukulthoum","family":"Bakare","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical and Scientific Commission, Nigeria Olympic Committee, Lagos, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Florian","family":"Forelli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratoire Interuniversitaire de Biologie de la Motricit\u00e9 (EA 7424), Universit\u00e9 Jean Monnet Saint-Etienne, Lyon 1, Universit\u00e9 Savoie Mont-Blanc, Saint-\u00c9tienne, France"},{"name":"Haute-Ecole Arc Sant\u00e9, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, 2800 Del\u00e9mont, Switzerland"},{"name":"Orthopaedic Surgery Department, Clinic of Domont, Ramsay Healthcare, @OrthoLab, Domont, France"},{"name":"Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Fran\u00e7aise des Masseurs Kin\u00e9sith\u00e9rapeutes du Sport LAB, Asni\u00e8res sur -Seine, France."}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Oluwatoyosi B.A.","family":"Owoeye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Translational Injury Prevention Lab, Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, Doisy College of Health Sciences, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA."},{"name":"Department of Physiotherapy, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"11140","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1265","DOI":"10.1136\/BJSPORTS-2017-097956","article-title":"Sports injury and illness incidence in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Summer Games: A prospective study of 11274 athletes from 207 countries","volume":"51","author":"T. 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