A mixed-method analysis of the contribution of informal sport to public health in Australia.

Informal sport is a growth area of sport participation but there has been limited examination of how informal and unstructured forms of participation may contribute to health outcomes that are important for public health. This article aims to address the current lack of data examining the health outcomes associated with informal sport participation and consider the potential role of informal sport within efforts to promote healthier communities through sport. The article seeks to broaden understanding of how informal sport participation can contribute to health outcomes, particularly with regard to increasing physical activity and enhancing mental health and social connection. The article discusses the findings of an Australian mixed-method study that draws on observation, survey, interview and focus group data to examine the prospective health and social benefits of informal sport participation for adults. The findings demonstrate that informal sport participation can contribute to physical and mental health outcomes and facilitate social connection. Analysis of the observation data enabled an examination of the economic value of informal sport in relation to the health benefits it affords. The study provides valuable evidence of the value of informal sport for enhancing community health and broadens understanding of how sport can be utilized as a health promotion resource. The article concludes by suggesting that through leveraging existing infrastructure and the self-organizing aspects of informal sport, local government and health stakeholders can harness its potential to improve public health outcomes and address health inequities.

Identifying Ageism Within Australian Local Government Physical Activity Policy: A Critical Discourse Analysis.

This research aims to identify ageist content concerning older adults within local government physical activity policy. Policies are not passive texts; they can comprise hidden or disputed connotations. To identify ageism, the study utilizes a critical discourse analysis approach to analyze physical activity policy documents (n = 61) from 16 local government areas in Victoria, Australia, and the perceptions of local government employees trusted with developing these policies, which were gathered during semistructured interviews (n = 11). Results from the critical discourse analysis indicate that local government policies are imbued with ageism, leading to the construction and perpetuation of various stereotypes of older adults. The discourse analysis points to potentially ageist descriptions including older adults being vulnerable, incapable, and a financial burden. Nonetheless, older adults were also revealed to be significant contributors to the community including in paid employment, caregiving roles, and volunteering.

Examining Pride Cups as a health promotion resource to address homophobia in Australian men's sport.

Effective interventions are needed to stop homophobic behaviours in sport settings as these behaviours are associated with negative health and social outcomes for individuals who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or other diverse genders and sexualities. This paper reports the results of a quasi-experimental study commissioned by a public health agency to explore the benefits of a novel intervention that has been widely adopted by Australian community sport clubs. The 'Pride Cup' intervention includes education for club leaders, sport participants and the hosting of a rainbow-themed 'pride game'. Survey responses of male participants from six randomly selected sport clubs which had received the intervention (n = 148) were compared to responses (n = 137) from six randomly selected comparison clubs (Australian Football, cricket, field hockey, roller derby). Employing a post-test-only design, the study explored differences in homophobic attitudes, behaviours and individual efficacy to react negatively to homophobic behaviours. The study found significant differences (p < 0.001) in self-reported use of homophobic slurs (e.g. fag) in the last 2 weeks by participants in the treatment (11%) versus comparison (31.8%) clubs, and significant differences in the perceived use of these slurs by teammates (25.9% vs. 56.6%) or coaches (7.8% vs. 23.3%). There were also significant differences in efficacy scores, but no differences in homophobic attitudes. These results, combined with evidence of community-driven adoption, support the allocation of public health resources to conduct larger scale trials using pre/post designs to confirm these findings.

Homophobic behaviours are harmful to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or other diverse genders and sexualities (LGBTQ+) people. United Nations agencies have called for research to identify ways to protect this population from discrimination in community settings. Little research has been conducted to understand how to address this problem in male sport. This study explored the value of an intervention developed by Pride Cup Australia, widely adopted by Australian community sport clubs. The charity provides education and helps clubs host a rainbow-themed 'pride game'. The study compared the homophobic language used by male participants at six clubs that had implemented a Pride Cup, with participants at six clubs which had not. Homophobic attitudes and confidence to react negatively to homophobia were also compared. Participants at clubs that adopted the intervention used less homophobic language in the previous 2 weeks than at the comparison clubs (11% vs. 31.8%) and were half as likely to report their teammates had used this language (25.9% vs. 56.6%). It is unclear if differences were caused by the Pride Cup intervention or some other factor (i.e. teams that agreed to host Pride Cup were already more supportive of LGBTQ+). Given grassroots support for this potentially promising intervention, larger scale studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Intergenerational understandings of personal, social and community assets for health.

Connecting local citizens of different ages in productive social activity is considered a pathway towards greater health. This research explores how older adults and young people interpret and access assets from their geographical community in relation to their well-being and the extent to which a process of intergenerational bridging contributes to the creation of additional assets for health. Data is presented from a process of place-mapping, interviews, observations and arts-based approaches to: a) understand how personal, social and community assets supported perceived health and wellbeing for the young children and older adults who participated; and b) explore the impact of intergenerational connection on enhancing social capital. The research utilised bonding, bridging and linking forms of social capital, across several interactions amongst 41 individuals who reside in the same geographical community (Victoria, Australia). Assets for health, common across generations and located within the same geographical community were identified. Social connections were strengthened through conversations, reflections and an integration of ideas facilitated through an arts-based approach. Findings suggest that through intergenerational connection and sharing of resources to support health, including the sharing of community assets, progress can be made towards community strengthening with implications for health and wellbeing.

Validation of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale for Children and Adolescents using Rasch analysis.

OBJECTIVE: A validated measure of daytime sleepiness for adolescents is needed to better explore emerging relationships between sleepiness and the mental and physical health of adolescents. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) is a widely used scale for daytime sleepiness in adults but contains references to alcohol and driving. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale for Children and Adolescents (ESS-CHAD) has been proposed as the official modified version of the ESS for children and adolescents. This study describes the psychometric analysis of the ESS-CHAD as a measure of daytime sleepiness for adolescents. METHODS: The ESS-CHAD was completed by 297 adolescents, 12-18 years old, from two independent schools in Victoria, Australia. Exploratory factor analysis and Rasch analysis was conducted to determine the validity of the scale. RESULTS: Exploratory factor analysis and Rasch analysis indicated that ESS-CHAD has internal validity and a unidimensional structure with good model fit. Rasch analysis of four subgroups based on gender and year-level were consistent with the overall results. The results were consistent with published ESS results, which strongly indicates that the changes to the scale do not affect the scale's capacity to measure daytime sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that the ESS-CHAD is a reliable and internally valid measure of daytime sleepiness in adolescents 12-18 years old. Further studies are needed to establish the internal validity of the ESS-CHAD for children under 12 years, and to establish external validity and accurate cut-off points for children and adolescents.

A qualitative study of 'fear' as a regulator of children's independent physical activity in the suburbs.

A crisis discourse has developed within the health and physical activity literature that paints a disparaging picture about the decline of children's participation in active play and independent mobility. Fear as a moderator of children's mobility, in this case focused on independent active school travel (IAST), remains a poorly understood construct. Within the popular press and academic literature, middle class parents have been characterised as overly anxious towards culturally reinforced dangers whilst being ignorant of the benefits of IAST during childhood. Fear of strangers, dangers and risk-taking are portrayed as nebulous and irrational anxiety states that are contributing to another great fear, a fear that our children are getting fat. The study draws upon Tudor's, (2003), parameters of fear framework to explore parent negotiations of fear and risk associated with IAST. In depth individual and focus group interviews with parents (N=24) provide insight into meanings, rules and customs that govern the way in which fear is experienced and expressed within a middle class white suburb in Australia. Far from being irrational, and operating purely from drivers at a cultural level, parents were aware of the consequences of their decisions on a range of outcomes. Parents could articulate their own anxieties and in many cases the rational probabilities of anything bad happening. Fear was being constructed through complex relations, negotiated individually and collectively within a specific cultural and environmental context. In the process of their decision-making, there remained a constant negotiation between a desire to allow their child independence and the question 'what if?' Those seeking to mediate increased opportunities for children's IAST are encouraged to remove the rational/irrational focus that was redundant for parents in this study, and consider shifting the message toward the positive side of what is a highly contested decision making space for parents.

Riding with the sharks: serious leisure cyclist's perceptions of sharing the road with motorists.

As serious leisure cyclists increase their presence on Australian public roads, there have been reports within the popular and mainstream literature of a growing tension between these cyclists and other road users. Until now, there has been limited research exploring the relationship between serious leisure cyclists and other road users as it pertains to issues of safety and motivations to cycle for leisure. This mixed methods research provides insights into a particular cohort of serious leisure cyclists and their experiences of sharing the roads with motorists. Analysis reveals a range of concerns amongst this sub-group, mediated by factors such as age, experience and environment. The paper calls for a differential focus on sub-groups of cyclists when considering policy formation, regulation and safe provision for cyclists on roads.

Instrumentation and Motivations for Organised Cycling: The Development of the Cyclist Motivation Instrument (CMI).

'Serious leisure' cycling has developed as a reinterpretation of the traditional form of the sport. This short term, informal, unstructured and unconventional conceptualisation represents a challenge to participant numbers in the mainstream sport. The purpose of this study was twofold: (i) to ascertain the cultural, subcultural and ecological factors of participation in this new conceptualised form enabling clubs, associations and governments to a deeper understanding about participants practices and (ii) as an ongoing validation to previous qualitative work (see O'Connor and Brown, 2005). This study reports on the development and psychometric properties (principal components analysis, confirmatory factor analysis) of the Cyclists' Motivation Instrument. Four hundred and twenty two cyclists (371 males, 51 females) who were registered members of the state competitive cycling body completed a fifty-one item instrument. Five factors were identified: social, embodiment, self-presentation, exploring environments and physical health outcomes and these accounted for 47.2% of the variance. Factor alpha coefficients ranged from .63 to .88, overall scale reliability was .92, suggesting moderate to high reliability for each of the factors and the overall scale. Key pointsSerious leisure' cyclists' are fitness seeking enthusiasts that attach different meanings to the act of cycling and participate in different physical, social and natural environments in comparison to other cyclists.This study develops and validates a new tool, the Cyclists Motivation Instrument (CMI), and presents the initial psychometric properties (principal components analysis, confirmatory factor analysis).FIVE FACTORS WERE IDENTIFIED: social, embodiment, self-presentation, exploring environments and physical health outcomes.The scale demonstrates adequate reliability (total scale, α = 0.92) and validity.