A survey on the use of  protective eyewear has been conducted in Finland and the results have recently been published by the Finnish Floorball Federation. The study shows, among other things, that appearance and social pressure, as well as comfort and attitudes, influence the use in floorball.

The study was prepared by Ninni Kaisko and Senni Kivinen, students in the optometry degree programme at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, as part of their thesis. The study is based on an extensive quantitative survey involving nearly 5,000 persons and was conducted in December 2020.

Background to the study
The thesis discusses the results of a study carried out in co-operation with the Finnish Floorball Federation. The study was carried out through a survey to floorball players, between 18 and 50 of age, and provides insight into the current use of protective eyewear and players’ attitudes towards the use. A total of 4,860 responses were received and all responses were used. The results were analysed using the SPSS software in January 2021. The aim was to identify any problems players may have with their vision and to highlight players’ thoughts on protective eyewear.

Previous studies on eye injuries in floorball have shown that floorball players suffer a relatively high incidence of eye injuries. The most common eye injuries were contusions and anterior chamber haemorrhages.

Perceived vision problems
Floorball players hardly experience any problems with vision during leisure time or in game situations. This could be due to the fact that most of the respondents were 18 years old and the average age of the respondents was 32 years.

In fast-paced game situations, few people have time to think about their own vision, which may have contributed to the results. Vision problems may be experienced, but are ignored if they do not significantly interfere with the game.

Use of protective eyewear
66% of players never or rarely wear protective eyewear and 20% of players always wear goggles of their own free will. Women were more likely to wear protective eyewear according to the results. The main reason given for not wearing goggles was that they fog up. Respondents felt that the constant need to clean the goggles because of fogging interfered with their game.

Other frequently cited reasons for not wearing protective eyewear included not being used to playing with goggles, social pressures and the fact that goggles were not compulsory for all age groups. Many players commented that they had never even tried protective eyewear. As the goggles are not compulsory for everyone in Finland, many have not bought them.

The purchase of protective eyewear is certainly also influenced by whether others wear them and by the general opinion of the team and club. Some respondents commented that the reason for not wearing protective eyeawear as follows:

“Habituation, appearance, not compulsory, fly off the head in contact”
“They get wet from sweating -> always have to dry and clean in the locker room”.
“They feel and look ridiculous.”

Older players wear protective eyewear much less than younger players. For some of the younger players, wearing goggles is compulsory, which may have affected results. As protective eyewear have only become more common in recent years and have not been compulsory for older players, they may not even have been purchased or tried. Some older players also commented injuries are very rare. The use of protective eyewear is not considered necessary because the risk of eye injury is perceived to be low.

The players had experienced relatively few eye injuries. Around one fourth of the respondents had suffered an eye injury at least once. Those who had suffered an eye injury wore protective eyewear more often. Players who did not wear protective eyewear in game situations felt more vulnerable to eye injuries. It seems that eye injuries are not perceived to be so dangerous that there is a desire to try to avoid them by wearing protective eyewear.

Comments from players who have suffered from eye injuries:

“Glasses came into use through injury. No desire to go through the same thing again.”
“I started wearing goggles after my first eye injury and encouraged others to do the same.”
“The shoulder came in the eye. After that, always wear goggles when playing.”

Reflection
The free speech section of the survey revealed that the current rule on wearing goggles is perceived as both a good and bad thing. Many respondents commented that the wearing of protective eyewear should be made compulsory for everyone or that players over 18 should be able to decide for themselves.

Others commented that the obligation to wear protective eyewear should be abolished altogether and that it should be the responsibility of the user. For younger players, the compulsory use of protective eyewear was seen as a good thing. However, based on the responses, it can be said that more than half of the respondents consider the use of goggles to be both important and useful.

Below some comments from some respondents:

“Make goggles compulsory for all series. Could start with the F-League!”
“Goggles are a really good thing for juniors.”
“Making goggles compulsory in floorball is the worst decision ever made in the sport.”

It was also noted that many respondents are not aware of the possibility to purchase protective eyewear with their own strengths.

Below are some respondents’ thoughts on the subject:

“If I could get goggles with my own strengths at a reasonable price, I would definitely buy them.”
“The choice of IFF-approved goggles with strengths is small. Otherwise I would use”
“It would be good to have more information for players about goggles in general. Where to get them, how much they cost, whether it’s possible to get them in strengths, where to try them on/fit them, etc.”

When analysing the results and reading the comments, it came as a surprise that 66% of the respondents do not wear protective eyewear. The expectation was that the use would be somewhat more common.

This is very unfortunate, as the use of protective equipment should not be limited by prejudice and attitudes. It is hoped that the publication of the thesis and article will help to break down the negative attitudes towards the use of protective eyewear s and to promote a more positive attitude towards them.

The use of protective eyewear can reduce the risk of eye injuries and is therefore recommended for everyone, regardless of age or level of vision.

Extract from the Finnish Floorball Federation competition rules 38§ Equipment
Field players born on or after 1 January 1999 must wear protective eyewear approved and labelled by the International Floorball Federation in official matches. 

IFF recommends the use of protective eyewear

Protective eyewear is available, and the IFF Medical Committee strongly recommends that the protection is used. In addition, the IFF recommends that the Member Associations make the use protective eyewear mandatory, like more IFF Member Associations have done recently.

Source: Finnish Floorball Federation