Effectiveness of an injury prevention video on risky behaviours in youth snow sports: A randomized controlled trial

Objectives: Ski and snowboard-related injuries are common among Canadian youth. Analyzing the role of risky behaviours that contribute to injury risk is essential for gaining an understanding of injury prevention opportunities. The objective was to determine if rates of risky behaviour seen at the ski hill were lower for children and adolescents exposed to an educational injury prevention video.

Methods: This single-blinded cluster randomized controlled trial included students (ages 7-16) from 18 Calgary schools who were enrolled in novice levelled school-sanctioned ski and snowboard programs. Consenting schools were randomly assigned to the intervention or control. The control group followed standard preparation including watching a general ski hill orientation video that was created by the ski hill. The intervention group viewed the intervention video focussed on injury prevention. The Risky Behaviour and Actions Assessment Tool was used by blinded research assistants to observe and record students' risky behaviours at an Alberta ski hill.

Results: In total, 407 observations estimated the rate of risky behaviour. The overall rate of risky behaviour was 23.31/100 person runs in the control group and 22.95/100 person runs in the intervention group. The most commonly observed risky behaviours in both groups were skiing too close to other skiers/snowboarders and near collision with an object/person.

Conclusions: Both groups showed similar rates of risky behaviour and demonstrated the same most common type of behaviour. Practical applications: future work should focus on mitigating common risky behaviours.