Chapter 11 Quizlet - Promotion of Physical Activity

The Social Ecological Model (SEM)

- A tool designed to assess if a program or intervention has had a positive impact on physical activity levels for a given population

- This model tries to change behaviour to encourage physical activity

- There are four different levels/factors to explore - individual, social environment, physical environment (natural and constructed) and policy.

- These environments can impact how physically active a person is or is not.

- If all four levels of the SEM are targeted in a program or initiative, it will be more likely to change behaviour of the given population group it is targeting

- All of these levels should be targeted in the creation of a successful physical activity intervention and program

- It is important you know all four levels well to identify where they exist, or where they do not exist in a program

View table 11.05 on page 369

Individual Level

- This level, also referred to as the interpersonal level, includes individual characteristics such as personal attributes, behaviours, self-concept, and behavioural skills (e.g., goal setting).

- It also encompasses confidence in fundamental motor skills and knowledge, such as understanding the benefits of physical activity and why it is important.

Some Individual level strategies:

Schools:

Increasing physical literacy, self-efficacy, knowledge about the importance of physical activity and competence in fundamental movement skills during school physical education and sport programs

Workplace:

Increased knowledge and awareness of physical activity options and active opportunities

Community:

Educational programs (e.g. enrolling in a spin or Zumba class or Pilates)

Social Level

- The social environment level refers to the formal and informal social climate and support network and systems surrounding an individual (e.g. single or dual parents, siblings, extended family, peers).

- Supportive behaviours can come from primary groups, which include the family, work group and friendship circle.

- Supportive behaviours include providing or sharing transport to sport or a park, encouraging someone to be active, offering to be active with someone, and helping to pay fees.

Some Social level strategies

Schools:

- Hold outdoor walking classes

- Ensure adequate supervision during lunch breaks

- Set up a peer-support program in which older students gather and play games, activities and sports with younger students

Workplace:

- Run large activity events such as a workplace 'ride to work day' or enter a work team into corporate/community events such as fun runs, corporate lawn bowls, softball or social tennis

- Implement lunchtime walking groups

Community:

- Organised social competitions (e.g. tennis, indoor sports)

- Encourage the development of, and participation in, walking clubs/groups at community centres or parks

- Strategies should focus on changing the culture (the nature of the existing social relationships) to encourage and provide support for physical activity.

- While the ultimate target of the strategies may be to increase physical activity in individuals, the interim targets are the social norms and social influences.

Physical Environment Level

- Having safe, accessible and aesthetic places to be active, such as parks, safe streets and walking trails

- Introduction of ramps and smooth surfaces so that people with wheelchairs can easily access areas

- Being able to safely walk to transport

- Natural environment - mountains, coasts, bush

- Built environment - roads, public open spaces, parks, ovals, gymnasiums, fields, grandstands, pools, changing facilities and car parks, walking trails, boardwalks, paths

Some Physical level strategies:

Schools:

- Use a variety of equipment or objects, such as car tyres, to stimulate creative play

- Develop well-equipped playgrounds with playground equipment, line markings on courts, walls, grassed areas, goal posts

- Establish walking/cycling paths around the school perimeter for use by students, families and the community

- Introduce a bike shed or bike-lockable area with racks

Workplace:

- Put up posters in staff areas listing the consequences of inactivity, the health benefits of regular physical activity, or how to perform specific exercises such as stretches

- Put up posters in staff areas demonstrating how to exercise while sitting at a desk or standing at the photocopier

- Provide changing facilities, showers, lockers and exercise facilities

Community Level strategies for physical

Town planners should:

- maximise walkability and rideability of community streets

- have footpaths and ensure trails and paths link important destinations such as public transport, schools, housing, parks and shops

- ensure parks include shade, seating and drinking water

- incorporate traffic calming strategies, lighting, benches, public bathrooms, shade, landscaping

Policy and Organisational Level

- Policies include laws, regulations, formal and informal rules or understandings that are adopted to guide individual and collective behaviour

- Examples of policies include curriculum and national guidelines for physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for different population groups

- Organisational factors are organisational characteristics of social institutions, including rules, regulations, guidelines and governance of operation.

- These can relate to incentives, resources and infrastructures for activity or inactivity.

Some Policy and Organisational level strategies (view following cards)

Schools:

- Encourage multiple uses of spaces for a variety of sports, games and activities, such as putting temporary tennis nets on a basketball court

- Strengthen relevant school policies to support physical activity

- Use sport, dance, active play or walking in delivering the school curriculum

- Use standing lessons to break up extended sitting time

- Ban all staff from using physical activity as a form of punishment

- Ensure the recommended time (mandate) for physical education and sport is met by timetabling

- Make changes to the school day to extend lunch breaks

Workplace:

- Implement organisational incentives directed at individuals (e.g. subsidised gym memberships for staff who go to the gym at least once per week)

- Close escalators or lifts (other than to people using wheelchairs, crutches, walkers or who have physical conditions) for one week and replace with increased signage encouraging use of stairs

- Send organisation-wide emails regularly, encouraging staff to move around for a few minutes each hour; for example, go for a short walk or stretch

Community

- Develop a community directory (resource list) that lists all the local physical activity facilities and programs, including sporting clubs; provide people with costs and contact details

- Regularly distribute brochures of Australian physical activity and sedentary behaviour guidelines

- Encourage recreation and leisure centres to offer single- or multiple-session introductory activity classes for gym, swimming and aerobics.

View FIGURE 11.14 (page 380): A framework for critiquing physical activity intervention programs based on the social-ecological model

Physical Activity Promotion (view following cue cards)

Population-based approaches

- Population based approaches are designed to influence the population at at a larger scale

- Population level approaches usually relate to one or a combination of the following three things a. environmental change, b. mass media, and c. policy.

- In order to succeed, a population based approach must:

1. Integrate with national policies, have SMART goals and objectives

2. Employ strategies aimed at supporting individuals and creating a supportive environment

3. Have a high-level political commitment

4. Be funded sufficiently and sustainably rather than being short term

5. Be culturally sensitive, socially inclusive and consider cultural ties, customs, family ties, gender roles, social norms, languages and dialects

6. Target the whole population as well as specific population groups

7. Have a clear identity by having a common program name, logo, mascots, and other branding that can be used in mass media campaign and local initiatives

Environmental interventions

- Population-level physical activity interventions generally focus one or more of the following:

1. natural environment

2. constructed (built) environment factors

3. policies related to incentives

4. policies related to resources and infrastructure.

- The natural environment, including terrain, climate and vegetation, is often a barrier to physical activity.

- For example, if you live in the alpine region of Victoria, your physical activities during winter are likely to include snow sports or indoor activities. This would be quite different for someone living in Mildura, which has higher winter temperatures and lower rainfall.

- The constructed environment may also provide barriers to being physically active.

- For example, it is often difficult to locate the stairs in shopping centres, while the escalator or lift is easily identified.

All interventions in the natural or constructed environments require funding.

Mass Media

- Mass media aim to reach groups of individuals using a medium other than personal contact or face to face meetings.

- Examples include:

1. Online advertisement, social media, and websites

2. Radio broadcasts

3. Billboards and posters

- The main benefit of using mass media approach is the potential to reach large numbers of people at a lower cost per person than individualised approaches.

- Main purpose of mass media campaigns is to raise awareness and increase motivation.

Key promotion groups

Promoting active lifestyles is the responsibility of a range of key organisations and groups, including:

- the Australian Government's Department of Health

- state and local governments

- government agencies

- non-government agencies and organisations national sporting organisations and state sport associations

- the Australian Sports Commission

- local sporting clubs and coaches

- sporting and recreational providers

- schools and parents

- commercial industries

- allied healthcare providers

The Australian Government's Department of Health is responsible for the monitoring and surveillance of health behaviours, including physical activity.