Details

Purpose: This symposium will familiarise attendees with different tools and methods which have been used to monitor, audit and assess physical activity policy at different levels of government.

Rationale: The potential of public policy to influence physical activity levels is widely acknowledged. Capitalising on this potential requires information to inform policy decisions as well as active engagement by researchers in the policy process at every level of government. Dissemination of knowledge regarding policy tool availability, as well as the application of these tools at different levels of government, is needed.

Objectives: This symposium will present research on physical activity policy monitoring informing the audience about the tools which are available in this domain and the process of utilising these tools. The symposium will enable researchers to share their knowledge and experiences of using policy monitoring and assessment tools.

Summary: Three presentations will open a discussion on researcher and policy maker collaborations to analyse physical activity policies. The first presentation will present a systematic review of policy monitoring studies providing an overview of tools which are available for physical activity policy analysis. The two following presentations will provide an overview of how two different physical activity policy tools where applied in practice using processes of co-production. The second presentation will focus on how the CAPLA-Santé tool was applied at a local level in the Riviera region in France, while the final presentation will showcase how the PA-EPI tool was utilised at a national level in Ireland. The session will conclude with critical questions from the discussant and the audience.

Format:

Chair: Prof. Catherine Woods, University of Limerick, Ireland.

Presenter 1: Dr. Sven Messing, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Germany.

Research- vs. government-driven physical activity policy monitoring: a systematic review across different levels of government

Presenter 2: Dr. Aurélie Van Hoye, Université Côte d’Azur, France.

Reviewing local Physical Activity Policy: The CAPLA-Sante tool and its application

Presenter 3: Mr Kevin Volf, University of Limerick, Ireland

Assessing the implementation of physical activity-promoting public policies in Ireland: A Pilot Study using the Physical Activity Environment Policy Index (PA-EPI)

Discussant: Dr Michael Pratt of the University of California San Diego will ask critical questions of the presenters regarding the use and future applications of policy monitoring and assessment tools.

Interaction: The discussant will solicit additional questions from the audience to the presenters.

Speaker