Kawa model on mental health, sports and physical performance: A mini review

Abstract

Successful sports performance is characterized by psychological, physical, technical, and tactical factors. Of these factors, the psychological factor is typically ignored despite contributing more than 50% toward success in sporting performance. This review aimed to introduce the Kawa model as a new methodology to promote sports and physical performance through developing mental health ability. The Kawa model is developed by occupational therapists and used to promote mental health ability in individuals by enabling self-awareness of their difficulties and exploring possible solutions. It consists of the following five elements: water, river banks, rocks, driftwood, and space. This research would further explore the usage of the Kawa model in addressing various psychological issues and how these improvements can enhance sports and physical performance. The literature search was performed by using Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus as a database with specific keywords. In conclusion, this research provides an overview of the potential for the use of the Kawa model in promoting mental health ability included self-awareness, self-understanding, goal-setting, self-efficacy, stress and anxiety control for sports and physical performance and lays the foundation for future research in this area.