Insights into benchmarking, evaluation and implementation of public policies to create healthy physical activity policy environments

Symposium B6

Abstract

Purpose: This symposium will present evidence that may inform physical activity (PA) policy bench-marking, evaluation and implementation.

Description:

Chair: Professor Wolfgang Ahrens, University of Bremen, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS, Germany. Description: The ‘Policy Evaluation Network’ is a multi-disciplinary European research network aimed at understanding the impact of public policy for promoting healthy lifestyles in an effort to prevent non-communicable disease. Research highlights the need to move beyond individual behaviour change to broader policy and system approaches. To understand the progress governments are making in creating healthy policy environments, the bench-marking of best practice has proven effective for advancing the food policy agenda; however its usefulness for PA requires evaluation. Individual country results promote mutual learning between countries. In addition, to catalyse action for active and healthy environments, monitoring and surveillance systems, as well as knowledge of implementation pathways, are needed to link government actions to the best way to implement them.

Presenter 1: Dr. Liam Kelly, University of Limerick, Ireland. Title: Insights into benchmarking, evaluation and implementation policies to create healthy physical activity policy environments. Description: This presentation will outline the development of ‘Good Practice Statements’ or ‘Benchmarks’, a core component of a Physical Activity Policy Environment Policy Index (PA-EPI).

Presenter 2: Dr. Antje Hebestreit, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology, Bremen, Germany.

Title: Development of screening instruments for assessment of physical activity indicators in harmonized European health surveillance. Description: This presentation will examine a short set of instruments (‘screeners’) allowing assessment of harmonized physical activity indicators in EU surveillance systems using an iterative approach.

Presenter 3: Dr. Sarah Forberger, Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology, Bremen, Germany. Title: Implementation pathways of public physical activity policies: Lessons learned from a scoping review. Description: This presentation will examine implementation pathways to understand what happens between PA policy publication/enactment and measured outcome.

Results: ‘Good Practice Statements’ (GPS) or ‘Benchmarks’ (review consultation currently ongoing) will be presented. These GPS form a core component in the development of a PA-EPI tool which aims to assess and compare the extent of implementation of national government policies and actions, for creating physically active environments against international best practice. Preliminary evidence indicates that 86% of PA indicators (n=67) could be mapped onto at least one suitable variable in an ongoing surveillance system. In terms of implementation, from 11,935 publications identified, 11 could be included in the analysis. Results cover mostly USA with examples for New Zealand, India/Indonesia, England and Switzerland. Governmental structures ranges from city level to nation level; policy fields from school to active design guidelines. Results of ongoing data synthesis will be presented.

Conclusions: The Discussant, Professor Joanna Zukowska, Gdansk University of Technology (Poland), responsible for transport and mobility, engineering and safety, and principal investigator/co-chair PEN Work Package 1, will critique the evidence presented with respect to its usefulness to policy-makers in terms of bench-marking, evaluation and implementation of public policies to promote PA.

Grant funding for research but no other competing interest: The first author has completed the disclosure form and declares: The PEN project is funded by the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life”, a research and innovation initiative of EU member states and associated countries. The funding agencies supporting this work are (in alphabetical order of participating countries): Germany: Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF); Ireland: Health Research Board (HRB); Italy: Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR); The Netherlands: The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw); New Zealand: The University of Auckland, School of Population Health; Norway: The Research Council of Norway (RCN); Poland: The National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR). Additionally, the French partners acknowledge the support through the Institute National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA).