The role of professional football clubs in enhancing young people’s mental health: a mixed-method survey of interventions delivered by English Football League Trusts

Aims:Football Club Community Trusts (FCCTs) that are attached to professional football clubs in the UK use the sport brand to engage marginalised populations in various initiatives designed to address public health agendas. Studies highlight the impact that FCCTs can have on adults’ mental health, yet less is known about programmes for young people under 18 years. This study is the first to identify the mental health-focussed interventions for young people that are delivered by the FCCTs in the English Football League (EFL), including the key programme features and challenges to implementation.Methods:A 60-item mixed-method survey was sent to all 70 FCCTs in the EFL during the 2018–2019 season in September 2018. In total, 54 (77.1%) FCCTs responded.Results:In total, 21 FCCTs were delivering mental health-focused interventions to young people and 23 different initiatives were identified. Reported aims included promoting resilience (n = 19/21, 90.5%) and self-esteem (n = 19/21, 90.5%), as well as identifying young people at risk of developing a mental health problem (n = 9/21, 42.9%). However, features of individual programmes varied. Some used football to increase social inclusion and overall wellbeing, whereas others included education sessions to improve mental health literacy (e.g. anti-stigma, strategies to promote mental health). FCCTs also reported challenges with evaluating their own interventions, sustaining funding, and keeping up to date with mental health training.Conclusions:This study contributes to the limited literature on professional sport club community trust interventions, highlighting the value of programmes targeting children and young people’s mental health. FCCT programmes align with mental health promotion and prevention policy, by providing opportunities to participate in physical activity (PA), develop mental health literacy, and identify young people at risk of developing mental health problems. Collaboration with organisations with expertise in service evaluation, audit, and research is essential to support FCCTs in evaluating their impact and demonstrating the significance of their work.</p

Walking football: a scoping review

Walking football is a modified form of the sport designed to increase accessibility, particularly for older adults, and is gaining global popularity. This review synthesizes current research on walking football, examining study methodologies, key findings, limitations, and recommendations for future investigation. Despite methodological diversity, studies consistently report positive outcomes across physical, mental, and social health domains for participants. However, much of the existing research is limited in scale, scope, or participant diversity. This highlights a need for more rigorous, longitudinal studies to better understand the broader implications of walking football, especially in relation to ageing populations and underrepresented groups. The findings also suggest potential for exploring similar walking-based adaptations in other sports. Overall, walking football shows promise as a community-based intervention to promote health and well-being, warranting further research

Corporate governance for sustainability : Statement

The current model of corporate governance needs reform. There is mounting evidence that the practices of shareholder primacy drive company directors and executives to adopt the same short time horizon as financial markets. Pressure to meet the demands of the financial markets drives stock buybacks, excessive dividends and a failure to invest in productive capabilities. The result is a ‘tragedy of the horizon’, with corporations and their shareholders failing to consider environmental, social or even their own, long-term, economic sustainability. With less than a decade left to address the threat of climate change, and with consensus emerging that businesses need to be held accountable for their contribution, it is time to act and reform corporate governance in the EU. The statement puts forward specific recommendations to clarify the obligations of company boards and directors and make corporate governance practice significantly more sustainable and focused on the long term

Illness representations and distress in women undergoing screening for familial ovarian cancer

Women with a familial or genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer are at significantly increased risk of developing the disease, and this warrants effective risk management strategies. A clinical trial of ovarian cancer screening (OCS) is being conducted to establish the effectiveness of this risk management strategy. This article reports data from its psychological partner study which aims to evaluate the psychological effects of OCS. Leventhal's Self-Regulatory Model provided the theoretical framework for understanding emotional responses to OCS. The revised Illness Perceptions Questionnaire (IPQ-R) is based on this model and the IPQ-R, adapted to the risk of ovarian cancer, was completed by women (N = 1999) prior to screening. The original IPQ-R factor structure was not replicated but IPQ-R variables explained 14.70% of the variance in women's ovarian cancer-specific distress after controlling for age, general anxiety and depression. Negative emotional representations of ovarian cancer risk and general anxiety were moderately associated with greater ovarian cancer-specific distress whereas cognitive illness representations were weakly related to ovarian cancer-specific distress. Further analyses of data from the ongoing psychological evaluation are needed to determine the predictive utility of IPQ-R variables in explaining distress during OCS

Catalysts to withdrawal from familial ovarian cancer screening for surgery and reactions to discontinued screening: a qualitative study

Women at high risk of familial ovarian cancer face a potentially difficult risk management choice between unproven ovarian cancer screening (OCS) and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO). It is not fully understood why women who initially opt for OCS may later undergo BSO, nor what the impact of this may be. This study explored the catalysts for surgery and reactions to discontinuing OCS. Semi-structured interviews were completed with 21 women who had undergone surgery having initially chosen OCS to explore their screening experiences, reasons for and feelings about surgery, and reactions to discontinuing OCS. The invasive nature and frequency of OCS were not by themselves a catalyst for surgery. A number of catalysts, including abnormal OCS test results, and secondary considerations, such as age-related factors, were found to prompt surgery. The emotional impact of discontinuing OCS following BSO varied between relief, acceptance, and loss of reassurance. OCS appears to be an acceptable risk management strategy under certain circumstances, but varying factors can prompt the decision to opt instead for BSO. The complexity of this management change decision should not be underestimated and needs to be taken into account by clinicians assisting women making choices. These findings highlight the importance of the timing of decision-making about BSO and that risk management options need routine reconsideration, through clinical discussions, information and support

The transition of care from fertility specialists to obstetricians: maternal adjustment and postpartum depressive symptoms.

Aim: This study examines the transition from fertility to obstetrical care of women who conceived through IVF. Materials &amp; methods: 33 women filled out questionnaires before IVF, during pregnancy and after birth on infertility stress, maternal adjustment and depressive symptoms. During pregnancy, they participated in an interview about their emotional experiences regarding the transition. Responses were sorted into three categories: Autonomy, Dependence and Avoidance. Results: Exploratory results show that 51.5% of women had no difficulties making the transition (Autonomy), 21.2% had become dependent (Dependence) and 27.3% had distanced themselves from the specialists (Avoidance). Women who became dependent had more trouble adjusting to motherhood and more depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Difficulty making the transition may be linked to decreased ability to adjust to motherhood and more postpartum depressive symptoms