The Validity and Engagement of the OSTRC-H2 Questionnaire as a Surveillance Tool to Detect Health Problems in a High-Performance Australian Youth Diving Cohort: An Observational Study

Background and Aims: The Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) questionnaire on health problems was developed to monitor self-reported health problems and their severity in junior and elite sporting populations but has yet to be validated in a youth diving cohort. This study aimed to assess the validity and degree of athlete engagement with the OSTRC-H2 questionnaire among youth Australian divers over 10 weeks and also report on their health problems via medical attention records. Methods: Thirty-seven youth Australian divers completed the OSTRC-H2 every Sunday for 10 consecutive weeks and also continued to report all medical attention health problems to their health professional during this period. Results: Engagement showed that the mean response rate was 72.3%, with a high variation among athletes (SD = 27.0%, range = 10.0%–100.0%). When accounting for missing reports, agreement with medical attention records indicated 93.8% for illness (±10.4), 82.4% for injury (±24.9), and 74.4% for training status (±25.1). Notably, the OSTRC-H2 recorded more illnesses (n = 7, 16 reports) than medical attention records (n = 4, 5 reports). During the 10-week surveillance period, 97 medical attention records were created, documenting 25 injuries and 4 illnesses. Conclusion: The OSTRC-H2 demonstrated a moderate to high response rate and good agreement (excluding missing reports) as a surveillance tool. It effectively identifies health problems in this cohort, particularly illness, and may assist to minimize severity and reduce time-loss health problems, positively impacting training and competition performance for youth Australian high-performance divers.