LAUSR

BACKGROUND Developing context-specific, evidence-informed, and implementable injury prevention programs is challenging. Women playing in the elite Australian Football League for Women (AFLW) are at high risk of serious knee injuries, and no AFLW-specific injury prevention program exists. The objective is to describe the collaborative process used to create a context-specific injury prevention program. METHODS A previously used intervention development process was modified to incorporate a partnership with the sport's governing organization and focus on engaging program implementers. The Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) Sports Setting Matrix guided program development and implementation strategies. RESULTS The 7-step process, aligned with the RE-AIM Sports Setting Matrix, was applied to develop the injury prevention program titled "Prep to Play PRO". The steps were: (Step 1) gaining organizational support and establishing a project partnership; (Step 2) using research evidence and clinical and context experience; (Step 3) consulting content and context experts; (Step 4) engaging the organization, experts, program implementers, and end-users in co-creating the intervention and implementation strategies; (Step 5) testing the intervention acceptability and feasibility; (Step 6) evaluating the intervention and implementation strategies against theory; and (Step 7) obtaining feedback from early implementers and end-users. CONCLUSION Engaging critical stakeholders at multiple ecological levels (organization, team, athlete) throughout program development and implementation planning supported real-world use. The processes and activities described can guide future sports injury prevention program development and implementation.