Peter Gelius

Physical inactivity as a policy problem: applying a concept from policy analysis to a public health issue

Despite the recent rapid development of policies to counteract physical inactivity (PI), only a small number of systematic analyses on the evolution of these policies exists. In this article we analyze how PI, as a public health issue, “translates” into a policy-making issue. First, we discuss why PI has become an increasingly important public health issue during the last two decades. We then follow Guy Peters and conceptualize PI as a “policy problem” that has the potential to be linked to policy instruments and policy impact. Analysis indicates that PI is a policy problem that i) is chronic in nature; ii) involves a high degree of political complexity; iii) can be disaggregated into smaller scales; iv) is addressed through interventions that can be difficult to “sell” to the public when their benefits are not highly divisible; v) cannot be solved by government spending alone; vi) must be addressed through a broad scope of activities; and vii) involves interdependencies among both multiple sectors and levels of government.We conclude that the new perspective on PI proposed in this article might be useful and important for i) describing and mapping policies to counteract PI in different contexts; ii) evaluating whether or not existing policy instruments are appropriate to the policy problem of PI, and iii) explaining the factors and processes that underlie policy development and implementation. More research is warranted in all these areas. In particular, we propose to focus on comparative analyses of how the problem of PI is defined and tackled in different contexts, and on the identification of truly effective policy instruments that are designed to “solve” the PI policy problem.

Building policy capacities: an interactive approach for linking knowledge to action in health promotion

This article outlines a theoretical framework for an interactive, research-driven approach to building policy capacities in health promotion. First, it illustrates how two important issues in the recent public health debate, capacity building and linking scientific knowledge to policy action, are connected to each other theoretically. It then introduces an international study on an interactive approach to capacity building in health promotion policy. The approach combines the ADEPT model of policy capacities with a co-operative planning process to foster the exchange of knowledge between policy-makers and researchers, thus improving intra- and inter-organizational capacities. A regional-level physical activity promotion project involving governmental and public-law institutions, NGOs and university researchers serves as a case study to illustrate the potential of the approach for capacity building. Analysis and comparison with a similar local-level project indicate that the approach provides an effective means of linking scientific knowledge to policy action and to planning concrete measures for capacity building in health promotion, but that it requires sufficiently long timelines and adequate resources to achieve adequate implementation and sustainability.

Promoting health-enhancing physical activity in Europe: Current state of surveillance, policy development and implementation

Highlights • Most EU Member States developed HEPA policies on “Sport”, “Health”, and “Education” sectors (27, 23 and 27, respectively).• Seventeen countries developed policies on “Environment, Urban Planning, and Public Safety” and 16 on “Working Environment”.• Less than 50% of the countries (N = 13) developed policies on the “Senior Citizens” sector.• Few countries have implemented policies covering all areas of the monitoring framework.

Physical Inactivity and Health Promotion: Evidence and Challenges

The purpose of this chapter is to give an overview of evidence on existing physical activity promotion strategies, to contribute to the development of theories that expand our focus beyond the individual level, and to provide insights about such interactions based on actual research projects. In the first part of this chapter, we review some of the existing evidence relating to physical activity promotion intervention strategies. We argue that there is an urgent need to develop and utilize theories that go beyond dynamics that occur at the individual level. The second section presents such a theoretical built on Giddens’ theory of structuration and on Sewell’s additions to incorporate structural change. The model also integrates Ostrom’s distinction between the operational level (where physical activity practice occurs) and the collective choice level (where physical activity-related policy-making takes place). In the third part of this chapter, we present two case studies for purposes of illustrating the cross-level interplay between structure and agency in health promotion. We conclude that future research should pay special attention to the specific processes at the collective choice level and to the fact that “what works” in public health might be different from “what works” in policy-making. In addition, from a global perspective, selecting appropriate interventions and policies and adapting existing ones to new contexts are questions of central importance. This will require closer investigation of national policy processes and context variables.