Active Living Collaboratives in the United States: Understanding Characteristics, Activities, and Achievement of Environmental and Policy Change

Abstract

IntroductionChanging the built environment to promote active lifestyles requires collaboration among diverse sectors. Multisectoral collaborative groups in the United States promote active lifestyles through environmental and policy changes. The objective of this study was to examine the characteristics of these collaborative groups and the extent to which they have achieved change.MethodsWe identified, recruited, and interviewed the coordinators of active living collaborative groups in the United States. We used descriptive statistics to characterize groups by composition, stakeholder engagement, and the extent of environmental and policy change in 8 strategic areas.ResultsFifty-nine groups from 22 states participated in the study. Most groups had a diverse set of partners and used a range of activities to advance their agendas. Most groups achieved some form of environmental or policy change. On average, groups reported working on 5 strategy areas; parks and recreation (86%) and Safe Routes to School (85%) were named most frequently. More than half of groups reported their environmental initiatives as either in progress or completed. Groups reported the most success in changing policy for public plazas, street improvements, streetscaping, and parks, open space, and recreation. Complete Streets policy and zoning ordinances were the most frequently cited policy types. Engaging in media activities and the policy-making process in addition to engaging stakeholders appear to influence success in achieving change.ConclusionAlthough many groups successfully worked on parks and recreation improvements, opportunities remain in other areas, including transit and infill and redevelopment. Additional time and resources may be critical to realizing these types of changes.

Lessons in Promoting Active Living

“…16 The term "collaborative" refers to any type of multidisciplinary group, coalition, or network. Structured telephone interviews with each collaborative's lead coordinator(s) were conducted by trained staff (from the Colorado School of Public Health and Washington University in St Louis) between May and August of 2011, with detailed notes taken on all interviews.…”

“…Lead coordinators or the lead person on physical activity from each eligible collaborative served as interview respondents. Detailed information regarding the structure and composition of participating collaboratives can be found in the study of Litt et al 16 …”

“…10 The findings presented here are part of a larger study called "Coalitions and Networks for Active Living (CANAL)" that examined composition, operations, and activities of multidisciplinary collaboratives that promote active living. 16 The CANAL study was conducted by the Physical Activity Policy Research Network (PAPRN), a research network funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the effectiveness of policies on population physical activity. The purpose of the current analysis is to explore successes and challenges that collaborative groups experience in promoting and implementing policies in support of active living and/or physical activity in their respective communities.…”

“…[6][7][8][9][10] There has been much examination of multidisciplinary collaboratives' effectiveness in facilitating these types of changes for health issues such as asthma, tobacco use, underage drinking, and type II diabetes, and knowledge about the effectiveness of these collaboratives for promoting policy and environmental change for advancement of physical activity and active living is just starting to emerge, beginning with examination of popular walk to school initiatives. 4,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Given the increase in interdisciplinary community collaboratives with a focus on facilitating more active-living friendly communities, information on barriers and enablers to achieving these changes can help identify best practices and can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of such collaborative groups. 10 The findings presented here are part of a larger study called "Coalitions and Networks for Active Living (CANAL)" that examined composition, operations, and activities of multidisciplinary collaboratives that promote active living.…”

Advancing Environmental and Policy Change Through Active Living Collaboratives

“…Although such efforts are well underway, only limited information is available about the effectiveness of active living collaboratives. 22 This study aims to evaluate compositional factors and community, policy, and political engagement activities that may influence collaboratives' effectiveness in advancing environmental improvements and policies for active living.…”