ABSTRACT
Social mobility refers to the intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status, and therefore of health status. Hence, it is important to consider social mobility to tackle the social gradient in health in the long term. Fostering social mobility requires developing public policies that ensure equal opportunities for all children. The intent of this commentary is to illustrate how a proportionate universalism approach to school-based physical activity could be a way to promote equal opportunity for children within the school environment. Alberta's Daily Physical Activity policy and the APPLE Schools program are used to illustrate this approach: these two programs not only create enabling environments that can support children in adopting healthy lifestyles but also contribute to the reduction of social inequalities in physical activity by fostering capacity building.
RéSUMé: La mobilité sociale fait référence à la transmission intergénérationnelle du statut socio-économique et, par conséquent, de l'état de santé. Il est donc important de considérer la mobilité sociale dans l'action publique visant à atténuer le gradient social de santé à long terme. Favoriser la mobilité sociale nécessite d'élaborer des politiques publiques propres à assurer l'égalité des chances pour tous les enfants afin qu'ils aient la possibilité d'améliorer leur sort. Ce commentaire vise à illustrer comment une approche universelle proportionnée de promotion de l'activité physique en milieu scolaire pourrait être un moyen de promouvoir l'égalité des chances en éducation. La politique d'activités physiques quotidienne de l'Alberta et le programme APPLE Schools sont utilisés pour illustrer cette approche : ces deux programmes créent non seulement des environnements favorables à l'adoption d'un mode de vie sain pour les enfants, mais contribuent également, à travers un processus de renforcement des capacités, à la réduction des inégalités sociales en matière d'activité physique.
Subject(s)
Exercise , School Health Services , Social Mobility , Alberta , Child , Humans , Program Evaluation , Social Determinants of Health , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Physical Activity and Sport (PAS) interventions can reduce the social and economic burden of non-communicable diseases and improve the wellbeing of the population. Social return on investment (SROI) has the capacity to measure broader socio-economic outcomes in a singular monetary ratio to help identify the most impactful and cost-beneficial intervention. This review aimed to systematically identify and review studies using the SROI method within the field of PAS and assess their quality. METHODS: Peer-reviewed and grey literature SROI studies were identified through a systematic search of six databases. Two reviewers independently assessed the identified studies to determine eligibility. Study quality was assessed using the Krelv et al. 12-point framework. For each included study, information was extracted and classified into summary tables. Extracted information included study and participant characteristics, type of outcomes and SROI ratio. The PRISMA guidelines were followed. RESULTS: Seventeen studies published between 2010 and 2018 met the inclusion criteria. Most studies (94%) were non-peer reviewed publicly available reports, primarily conducted in the UK (76%), by private consulting firms (41%) and included all types of stakeholders (76%). PAS interventions included Primary prevention (47%), Sport for development (29%), Secondary and tertiary prevention (18%) and High-performance sport (6%). SROI ratios, which report the social value created in relation to the cost of an intervention, vary between 3:1 and 124:1 for the high-quality studies. CONCLUSIONS: The SROI framework can be a useful tool to inform policy-making relating to PAS investment as it can account for the wide societal benefits of PAS. The quality of studies in the field would benefit from the employment of an impact map (or logic model), reporting negative outcomes and using objective study designs. The application of the SROI method in the PAS field is relatively recent, and thus further research would be beneficial to promote its potential for policy-making bodies in the field.
