Despite the relevance of this research topic from a public health perspective, there is currently a lack of objective data on European adolescents' sport activity, notably the associations between their sport habits and their health attitudes and behaviours, which may have important consequences both in terms of somatic (cardiovascular) health and mental health. The objective of the present study was to determine the direction and strength of the associations between the frequency of sport and health variables; in particular, perceptions of health, self image, substance use and experimental behaviours. Data were collected as part of the 1993 Swiss Multicentric Adolescent Survey on Health. In this survey, anonymous self-administered questionnaires were distributed to a national representative sample of 10,000 in-school adolescents (15-20 years of age). Univariate analyses explored the relationships between the level of sport activity and health variables; then logistic regression analyses examined the strength of these relationships. According to the results, half of the sample do sports more than twice a week, boys more often as part of a sports club. Differences between non-athletic and athletic adolescents describe the latter as having less somatic complaints, more confidence in their future health, a better body image, a lesser tendency to attempt suicide, a higher frequency of use of the car seat belt, and a lower use of tobacco, wine and marijuana. Links between the frequency of sport activity and the locus of control related to health, general satisfaction with life or sexual behaviours are less strong. It must be noticed that the cross-sectional data collection precludes the establishment of a causal relationship between exercise and health behaviours. However, the existing links underline the coexistence of positive health characteristics and sport activity, suggesting that an incitement to get involved in physical activity may be a necessary component of a comprehensive prevention approach among adolescents.

Switzerland has one of the highest rates of adolescent suicide in Europe, but the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and attempts is unknown. The objective of this paper is to assess the prevalence of suicidal ideation and behaviour among Swiss teenagers and to identify the factors associated with suicide attempts. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire was distributed to a representative sample of 9268 15- to 20-year-old adolescents attending school or college. Six items focused on suicidal ideation and conduct. Multivariate analyses were performed to identify the health variables associated with suicide attempts. About 55% of the adolescents had no suicidal concerns; 26% reported suicidal thoughts, 15% reported suicidal plans and 3% reported suicide attempts. Suicide attempters reported significantly more problems in four areas, namely health behaviour, life events, social relationships and mental health. In conclusion, many factors associated with suicide attempts represent detectable behaviours. Thus health professionals could use this knowledge to be more effective in suicide prevention among adolescents.

Background An international workshop on population health intervention research (PHIR) was organized to foster exchanges between experts from different disciplines and different fields. This paper aims to summarize the discussions around some of the issues addressed: (1) the place of theories in PHIR, (2) why theories can be useful, and (3) how to choose and use the most relevant of them in evaluating PHIR. Methods The workshop included formal presentations by participants and moderated discussions. An oral synthesis was produced by a rapporteur to validate, through an expert consensus, the key points of the discussion and the recommendations. All discussions were recorded and have been fully transcribed. Results The following recommendations were generated through a consensus in the workshop discussions: (i) The evaluation of interventions, like their development, could be improved through better use of theory. (ii) The referenced theory and framework must be clarified. (iii) An intervention theory should be developed by a partnership of researchers and practitioners. (iv) More use of social theory is recommended. (v) Frameworks and a common language are helpful in selecting and communicating a theory. (vi) Better reporting of interventions and theories is needed. Conclusion Theory-driven interventions and evaluations are key in PHIR as they facilitate the understanding of mechanisms of change. There are many challenges in developing the most appropriate theories for interventions and evaluations. With the wealth of information now being generated, this subject is of increasing importance at many levels, including for public health policy. It is, therefore, timely to consider how to build on the experiences of many different disciplines to enable the development of better theories and facilitate evidence-based decisions.

BackgroundEvidence-based decision-making and practice are pivotal in public health. However, barriers do persist and they relate to evidence properties, organisations and contexts. To address these major knowledge transfer (KT) issues, we need to rethink how knowledge is produced and used, to enhance our understanding of decision-making processes, logics and mechanisms and to examine the ability of public health services to integrate research findings into their decisions and operations. This article presents a realist evaluation protocol to assess a KT scheme in prevention policy and practice at local level in France.Methods/designThis study is a comparative multiple case study, using a realist approach, to assess a KT scheme in regional health agencies (ARS) and regional non-profit organisations for health education and promotion (IREPS), by analysing the configurations contexts/mechanisms/outcomes of it. The KT scheme assessed is designed for the use of six reviews of systematic reviews concerning the following themes: nutrition, alcohol, tobacco smoking, physical activity, emotional and sexual life and psychosocial skills. It combines the following activities: supporting the access to and the adaptation of scientific and usable evidences; strengthening professionals’ skills to analyse, adopt and use the evidences in the course of their practices and their decision-making process; facilitating the use of evidence in the organisations and processes. RAMESE II reporting standards for realist evaluations was used.DiscussionThe aims of this study are to experiment and characterise the factors related to the scheme’s ability to enable public health stakeholders to address the challenges of KT and to integrate scientific knowledge into policy and practice. We will use the realist approach in order to document the parameters of successful KT strategies in the specific contexts of preventive health services in France, while seeking to determine the transferability of such strategies.

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