Junior cricketers’ perceptions about the risk of exertional heat illnesses under different conditions (n=365)
| Chance of developing exertional heat illness | Risk perception score* | ||||||
| No- chance (%) | Small- chance (%) | High- chance (%) | Don’t Know (%) | Mean* | 95% CI* | Median (range)† | |
| Suffering from fever and other infections | 14 (3.8) | 79 (21.6) | 230 (63) | 42 (11.5) | 2.67 | 2.61 to 2.73 | 3 (1–3) |
| Not having a good physical fitness level | 21 (5.8) | 89 (24.5) | 219 (60.2) | 35 (9.6) | 2.60 | 2.54 to 2.67 | 3 (1–3) |
| Playing in very hot and sunny conditions | 18 (4.9) | 107 (29.4) | 212 (58.2) | 27 (7.4) | 2.58 | 2.51 to 2.64 | 3 (1–3) |
| Playing without taking enough water | 15 (4.1) | 117 (32.3) | 209 (57.7) | 21 (5.8) | 2.57 | 2.51 to 2.63 | 3 (1–3) |
| Having experienced heat illness in the past | 32 (8.8) | 71 (19.6) | 185 (51.1) | 74 (20.4) | 2.53 | 2.45 to 2.61 | 3 (1–3) |
| Being overweight | 25 (6.9) | 96 (26.4) | 169 (46.6) | 73 (20.1) | 2.50 | 2.42 to 2.57 | 3 (1–3) |
| Not having enough sleep during the previous night | 22 (6.1) | 107 (29.6) | 165 (45.6) | 68 (18.8) | 2.49 | 2.41 to 2.56 | 3 (1–3) |
| Playing in high humidity conditions | 25 (6.9) | 163 (44.9) | 99 (27.3) | 76 (20.9) | 2.26 | 2.19 to 2.33 | 2 (1–3) |
| Wearing tight fitting clothes | 56 (15.5) | 115 (31.8) | 129 (35.6) | 62 (17.1) | 2.24 | 2.16 to 2.33 | 2 (1–3) |
| Wearing excess amounts of clothes | 48 (13.3) | 123 (34) | 114 (31.5) | 77 (21.3) | 2.23 | 2.15 to 2.32 | 2 (1–3) |
| Getting used to environment conditions during training | 61 (16.8) | 181 (49.7) | 48 (13.2) | 74 (20.3) | 1.96 | 1.88 to 2.03 | 2 (1–3) |
| Wearing helmets and pads | 89 (24.5) | 150 (41.3) | 65 (17.9) | 59 (16.3) | 1.92 | 1.84 to 2.00 | 2 (1–3) |
| Cooling the body with cold towels or ice packs | 112 (31.0) | 145 (40.2) | 51 (14.1) | 53 (14.7) | 1.80 | 1.72 to 1.88 | 2 (1–3) |
| Resting in a cool shaded place | 186 (51.1) | 129 (35.4) | 24 (6.6) | 25 (6.9) | 1.52 | 1.46 to 1.59 | 1 (1–3) |
Shaded cells indicate the most common response obtained for each question.
*Mean scores were calculated for each response variable with 95% CI, after removing the ‘don’t know’ responses.
†Risk perception scores ranged from 1 to 3.