Sports first aid remains uneven across coaches, PE teachers, athletes, and venues, with major gaps in BLS/AED readiness, dental trauma, concussion recognition, and emergency planning. This evidence map shows which practical training models, responder systems, and infrastructure strategies can strengthen real-world emergency preparedness in sport.
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Abstract: The aim of this review is to synthesize evidence regarding the current state of first aid knowledge among sports stakeholders, evaluate the effectiveness of diverse educational interventions, and explore emerging technological systems for emergency management in athletic settings. The review is built on 98 cited references from 101 original studies, covering 17134959 total participants (topic-deduplicated ΣN). The mapped evidence indicates that sports first aid competency is broadly deficient across coaches, PE teachers, athletes, and school staff, with educational interventions consistently producing significant pre–post gains—exemplified by staff knowledge rising from 50% to 80% and student knowledge from 8.3% to 65% after structured training. Recurrent topic-level signals support a role for active learning modalities such as role-play, simulations, RICE/PRICE-based protocols, and pocket manuals in improving both knowledge and practical skills for sprains, splinting, and bandaging. The presence of athletic trainers and other medically trained responders was repeatedly associated with stronger adherence to emergency best practices, while only 11% of surveyed Oregon high schools met all three benchmarks for emergency action plans, AED access, and coach training, highlighting persistent infrastructure gaps. Dental trauma, concussion recognition, BLS/AED readiness, and catastrophic spinal injury management emerged as the most prominent thematic vulnerabilities, suggesting that mandatory certification, venue-specific emergency action plans, and targeted TDI and BLS modules represent practical priorities for sports organizations. The evidence base is heterogeneous and dominated by cross-sectional surveys, which constrains causal interpretation within this scoping map. Future research should prioritize longitudinal trials evaluating optimal refresher frequency, validate digital and wearable decision-support tools for point-of-care triage, and test scalable models for delivering trained responders and AED infrastructure in rural and mass-participation settings.
Keywords: Sports injury management; RICE protocol; PRICE method; Basic Life Support; Traumatic dental injuries; First aid education; Cardiopulmonary resuscitation; Ankle sprains; Emergency response systems; Orofacial trauma
Review Stats
Final search date and database lock: 2026-05-02 19:59:13 CEST
Plan: Pro (expanded craft tokens; source: Semantic Scholar)
Source: Semantic Scholar
Total Abstracts/Papers: 258267
Downloaded Abstracts/Papers: 1000
Included original and non-original Abstracts/Papers (all): 141
Included original Abstracts/Papers (Vote counting by direction of effect): 101
Reference Index (links used in paper): 98
Total participants (topic deduplicated ΣN): 17134959
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Reference Index (98)
[1] Knowledge level of sports injury first aid using PRICE method among student-athletes in Indonesia: A case study — https://doi.org/10.56003/sei.v1i1.555
[5] The International Association of Dental Traumatology (IADT) and the Academy for Sports Dentistry (ASD) guidelines for prevention of traumatic dental injuries: Part 10: First aid education. — https://doi.org/10.1111/edt.12931
[6] The Level of Knowledge of Students of Singaperbangsa Karawang University About How First AID When A Sports Injury Occurs — https://doi.org/10.26858/cjpko.v16i3.68592
[7] Survival strategies: developing competencies in first aid within the contemporary framework of professional training for bachelors in physical education and sports — https://doi.org/10.12958/2227-2844-2024-1(360)-73-82
[8] Educational Influence With Role Play About First Aid Rice In Sports Injury Ankle Sprain On Student Knowledge School — https://doi.org/10.52523/jika.v1i2.27
[12] Evaluation of level of awareness among coaches regarding the prevalence of sports-related orofacial trauma in children and their first aid and prevention in Delhi-NCR region — https://doi.org/10.4103/jicdro.jicdro_16_21
[14] A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Demonstration on Skill of First Aid During Sports Injuries Among School Children in Selected Rural Schools of Bagalkot — https://doi.org/10.36347/sjams.2026.v14i04.009
[17] Safety Measures and First Aid Educational Program among Sports School Students and their Staff regarding Sports Injuries — https://doi.org/10.21608/jnsbu.2021.186179
[20] Traumatic Dental Injuries: Prevalence, First Aid, and Mouthguard Use in a Sample of Italian Kickboxing Athletes — https://doi.org/10.3390/dj12100310
[24] First Aid Training on Near Drowning and Emergency System Activation to Employees of Hotel Quest San Denpasar — https://doi.org/10.33086/cdj.v7i2.4137
[25] The Effect Of Health Education With Pocketbooks And First Aid Simulation Regarding Ankle Sprain Injurieson The Knowledge And Skills Of Badminton Group Members In Windujaya Village — https://doi.org/10.37311/jnj.v5i2.15748
[26] AvaLife—A New Multi-Disciplinary Approach Supported by Accident and Field Test Data to Optimize Survival Chances in Rescue and First Aid of Avalanche Patients — https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095257
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[32] Students’ and physical education professionals’ knowledge about first aid maneuvers in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and syncope: A cross-sectional study — https://doi.org/10.21038/ijfa.2020.0203
[34] Youth Basketball Players' Awareness and Experiences of Sports-Related Traumatic Dental Injuries and Mouthguards in Turkey: A Cross-Sectional Study. — https://doi.org/10.1111/edt.70010
[40] An audit of first aid qualifications and knowledge among team officials in two English youth football leagues: a preliminary study — https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.36.4.295
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[49] The knowledge, attitude and practices of male sports participants to sports-related dental trauma in Khobar and Dammam, Saudi Arabia – A pilot survey — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sdentj.2016.02.001
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[55] GAMBARAN TINGKAT PENGETAHUAN SIWA SMA TENTANG PERTOLONGAN PERTAMA CEDERA OLAHRAGA DI SMA SWASTA RK DELI MURNI DISKI TAHUN 2024 — https://doi.org/10.36911/pannmed.v19i3.2213
[63] PENGGUNAAN BUKU PANDUAN PERTOLONGAN PERTAMA RAMAH ANAK TERHADAP KETERAMPILAN MENANGANI LUKA DALAM RANGKA MEWUJUDKAN SEKOLAH SEHAT — https://doi.org/10.21009/jpd.v13i2.34212
[69] Assessment of Preparedness for Sport Injuries by Primary School Teachers: A Nation-Wide Survey in Saudi Arabia — https://doi.org/10.2147/rmhp.s490824
[78] PENGARUH PENDIDIKAN KESEHATAN P3K BALUT BIDAI PADA CEDERA BELADIRI TERHADAP PENGETAHUAN DAN KETERAMPILAN ANGGOTA TAPAK SUCI — https://doi.org/10.30989/mik.v9i2.492
[84] When This Happens, You Want the Best Care: Players’ Experiences of Barriers and Facilitators of the Immediate Management of Rugby-Related Acute Spinal Cord Injury — https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732319834930
[88] Formas de atuação do fisioterapeuta em primeiros socorros nas modalidades desportivas: uma revisão da literatura brasileira — https://doi.org/10.26673/tes.v15i1.12271
[101] O.2.2-7 Pilot study of a health promotion intervention in sports clubs: evaluation of the implementation of the PROSCeSS intervention — https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckad133.122
[104] Sports Injury and Illness Epidemiology: Great Britain Olympic Team (TeamGB) surveillance during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games — https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2014-094206
[118] Mass gathering events: a retrospective analysis of the triage categories, type of injury or medical complaint and medical usage rates — https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2021-211745
[123] An emergency response system created to combat injuries during physical education training in a university using deep learning — https://doi.org/10.1108/el-07-2020-0175
[128] A qualitative study of health professions curricula and management of lateral ankle ligament sprain demonstrates inconsistency — https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02013-8
[132] Crowd medical services in the English Football League: remodelling the team for the 21st century using a realist approach — https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018619
[138] Assessment of epilepsy awareness, knowledge, and attitudes among preclinical and clinical medical students in the West Bank of Palestine. — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2023.109317
[139] Determinación de la calidad de la formación universitaria en seis carreras de pedagogía y licenciatura en educación física de Chile (Determination of the quality of university training in six careers of pedagogy and degree in physical education of Chile) — https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v52.101632
