A systematic review of instruments for the analysis of national-level physical activity and sedentary behaviour policies

Abstract

BackgroundThis systematic review aimed to identify and critically assess available instruments for the analysis of national-level physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour (SB) policies and provide recommendations for their future use.MethodsWe conducted a systematic search of academic and grey literature through six bibliographic databases, Google and the websites of three international organisations for PA promotion to identify instruments that are used or that may be used for national-level PA/SB policy analysis. In order to describe and categorise the identified instruments, we used the Comprehensive Analysis of Policy on Physical Activity framework. This framework specifies the elements of a comprehensive analysis of PA/SB policies through the following categories: purpose, level, policy sector, type of policy, stages of policy cycle and scope of analysis.ResultsOut of 22,071 screened items, 26 publications describing 16 instruments met the selection criteria. All the instruments can be used for analysing PA policy, whilst only two include questions about SB policy. None of the instruments allow for the analysis of all the relevant components of national PA/SB policy. Some important elements of PA policy analysis, such as the tourism and research sectors, the agenda-setting and endorsement/legitimisation stages, and the effects of policy, are addressed by only a few instruments. Moreover, none of the instruments address unwritten formal statements, informal policies, and the termination and succession stages of the policy cycle.ConclusionDesigning new instruments or adapting existing ones is needed to allow for a more thorough analysis of national PA and SB policies. Given that policy analysis covering all important components of PA/SB policy may be extremely time-consuming, a way forward might be to develop a set of complementary instruments, with each tool collecting detailed information about a specific component.

Results from Poland’s 2022 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

“…Such areas are strong in bureaucratic sport systems, which was recognized in Poland [ 43 ]. Thus, while the programs are precisely planned in terms of source of financing, responsibility and actions associated with particular goals, the results (outcomes and impact) and effectiveness of the government actions are not evaluated [ 9 ]. In particular, evaluation of some of the programs is only a formality which does not lead to knowledge generation.…”

“…While the insufficient PA of children and adolescents is commonly considered a global issue, the actual programs to solve the problem primarily occur on a national level [ 9 ]. Efficient policies and programs require up-to-date, valid national-level data to define issues, measure progress, determine intervention tools and evaluate the outcomes of these interventions.…”

The AHK-Wales Report Card 2018: Policy Measures - is it possible to ‘score’ qualitative data?

“…This would suggest that this dimension of physical activity could potentially be 'measured' and compared both over time and between users when the tool is applied consistently. Pogrmilovic et al (2019), noted both the need for the development of standardised methods for physical activity policy analysis and the relative disproportion of engagement of low-and middle-income countries. Whilst this paper outlines one approach taken in Wales the authors acknowledge the methodological limitations of the system that they have developed for quantifying what is a complex and largely qualitative process.…”

“…Although a recent review has identified increasing numbers of studies in the field of physical activity policy research that have used a variety of methods for policy analysis (Pogrmilovic, O'sullivan, Milton, Biddle, & Pedisic, 2019), there have been very few validated tools to aid such work (Pogrmilovic et al, 2019). A Policy Analysis Framework was published in 2002 and whilst it paved the way, it was at an early stage of physical activity policy development and was limited in the range of contributing sectors identified in the Framework (Schmid, Pratt, & Witmer, 2006).…”

The Impact of Physical Activity at School on Body Fat Content in School-Aged Children

“…Through compulsory PE lessons and additional organized PE classes, the school enables children to fulfill the recommendations regarding PA [35][36][37]. Moreover, participation in organized PA, especially team games, can bring benefits beyond physical health [32,34,[38][39][40][41][42][43].…”