Roles and strategies of state organizations related to school-based physical education and physical activity policies.

School-based physical education (PE) and physical activity (PA) policies can improve PA levels of students and promote health. Studies of policy implementation, communication, monitoring, enforcement, and evaluation are lacking. To describe how states implement, communicate, monitor, enforce, and evaluate key school-based PE and PA policies, researchers interviewed 24 key informants from state-level organizations in 9 states, including representatives from state departments of health and education, state boards of education, and advocacy/professional organizations. These states educate 27% of the US student population. Key informants described their organizations' roles in addressing 14 school-based PE and PA state laws and regulations identified by the Bridging the Gap research program and the National Cancer Institute's Classification of Laws Associated with School Students (C.L.A.S.S.) system. On average, states had 4 of 14 school-based PE and PA laws and regulations, and more than one-half of respondents reported different policies in practice besides the "on the books" laws. Respondents more often reported roles implementing and communicating policies compared with monitoring, enforcing, and evaluating them. Implementation and communication strategies used included training, technical assistance, and written communication of policy to local education agency administrators and teachers. State-level organizations have varying roles in addressing school-based PE and PA policies. Opportunities exist to focus state-level efforts on compliance with existing laws and regulations and evaluation of their impact.

Lessons in promoting active living: the collaborative perspective.

CONTEXT: Collaborative groups are integral in health promotion and disease prevention and use an ecological approach to address complex health conditions in community settings. Little is known about collaborative efforts to promote active living. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this analysis is to explore successes and challenges of collaborative groups in promoting active living in their communities. DESIGN/SETTING: One-time, structured telephone interviews were conducted to assess the composition tactics and activities and approaches used by collaboratives to promote active living. PARTICIPANTS: Collaborative groups were referred by Physical Activity Policy Research Network members or found through online searches. Interviews were conducted with coordinators of 59 collaborative groups. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Analysis focused on successes and challenges of collaborative groups' policies, programs, and/or projects as described by collaborative group coordinators. We used the Grounded Theory method approach to code and abstract themes from 2 open-ended response sets. RESULTS: Collaboratives' most successful projects centered on strategies using environmental (41%) or policy (31%) approaches to promote active living. While 80% of groups reported that their most successful project was funded, funding was also identified as a primary challenge for 71% of the collaboratives. Personnel issues were a common challenge for 54%. Opposition to successful projects ranged from community issues to collaborative member issues, although more than half the groups experienced no opposition. CONCLUSIONS: Groups that aligned goals, strategies, and funding to advance changes to the built environment were likely to identify their projects as successful. Perceptions of opposition and attitudes toward success may be important precursors to project outcomes of active living collaboratives and warrant further investigation. Lessons from these active living collaborative groups can provide guidance for other groups planning for environmental and policy change.

State and district policy influences on district-wide elementary and middle school physical education practices.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the influence of state laws and district policies on district-wide elementary school and middle school practices related to physical education (PE) time and the percentage of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) time during PE. DESIGN: Multivariate, cross-sectional analysis of state laws, district wellness and PE policies, and district PE practices for school year 2010-2011 controlling for district-level urbanicity, region, size, race/ethnicity of students, and socioeconomic status and clustered on state. SETTING: One hundred ninety-five public school districts located in 42 states. PARTICIPANTS: District-level PE coordinators for the included districts who responded to an online survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Minutes and days of PE per week and percent time spent in MVPA during PE time. RESULTS: District PE coordinators reported significantly less PE time than national standards-82.9 and 189.6 minutes at the elementary school and middle school levels, respectively. Physical education was provided an average of 2.5 and 3.7 days per week, respectively; and the percentage of MVPA time in PE was 64.4% and 65.7%, respectively. At the elementary school level, districts in either states with laws governing PE time or in a state and district with a law/policy reported significantly more days of PE (0.63 and 0.67 additional days, respectively), and districts in states with PE time laws reported 18 more minutes of PE per week. At the middle school level, state laws were associated with 0.73 more days of PE per week. Neither state laws nor district policies were positively associated with percent MVPA time in PE. CONCLUSIONS: State laws and district policies can influence district-level PE practices-particularly those governing the frequency and duration of PE-although opportunities exist to strengthen PE-related laws, policies, and practices.

Municipal officials' perceived barriers to consideration of physical activity in community design decision making.

CONTEXT: Built environment-focused interventions and policies are recommended as sustainable approaches for promoting physical activity. Physical activity has not traditionally been considered in land use and transportation decision making. Effective collaboration with non-public health partners requires knowledge of their perceived barriers to such consideration. OBJECTIVE: This analysis sought to (a) establish prevalence estimates of selected barriers to the consideration of physical activity in community design and layout decisions and (b) describe how barrier reporting by public health officials differs from other municipal officials among a wide range of job functions and departments in a geographically diverse sample. DESIGN: A Web-based survey was conducted among municipal officials in 94 cities and towns with populations of at least 50 000 residents in 8 states. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 453 municipal officials from public health, planning, transportation/public works, community and economic development, parks and recreation, city management, and municipal legislatures in 83 cities and towns responded to the survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Five barriers to consideration of physical activity in community design and layout were assessed. RESULTS: The most common barriers included lack of political will (23.5%), limited staff (20.4%), and lack of collaboration across municipal departments (16.2%). Fewer participants reported opposition from the business community or residents as barriers. Public health department personnel were more likely to report the barriers of limited staff and lack of collaboration across municipal departments than other professionals. They were also more likely to report lack of political will than city managers or mayors and municipal legislators. CONCLUSIONS: Barriers to increasing consideration of physical activity in decision making about community design and layout are encouragingly low. Implications for public health practice include the need to strategically increase political will despite public health staffing constraints and perceived lack of collaboration with relevant departments such as planning and public works/transportation.

Factors related to partner involvement in development of the US national physical activity plan.

CONTEXT: Physical activity coalitions are increasingly forming to meet the demands associated with policy, systems, and environmental change necessary to realize increases in population levels of physical activity. Little is known about what makes physical activity coalitions successful; however, evidence from community-based coalitions in other public health domains suggests that factors related to each organization that joins a coalition may explain coalition success or failure. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to employ qualitative methods to understand the factors related to organizations' decisions to join and remain committed to the coalition that developed and launched the US National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP). DESIGN/SETTING: Qualitative semistructured phone interviews were conducted with key informants from the NPAP coalition's partner organizations. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded separately by members of the research team. PARTICIPANTS: Fourteen individuals representing 13 NPAP partner organizations participated in the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Analysis focused on key factors explaining why and how partner organizations decided to join and remain committed to the NPAP coalition. RESULTS: Five primary factors emerged: (1) strategic alignment, (2) organizational alignment, (3) provide input, (4) seminal event, and (5) cost/benefit ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Building and maintaining a physical activity coalition with highly committed partners may hinge upon the ability to fully understand how each current or prospective partner perceives it could benefit from strategic alignment with the coalition, aligning with other organizations involved with the coalition, having input with the coalition's activities, participating in important events and products of the coalition, and realizing more overall advantages than disadvantages for participating in the coalition.

Developer and realtor perspectives on factors that influence development, sale, and perceived demand for activity-friendly communities.

BACKGROUND: Although public support for physical activity-friendly Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) appears to be growing, information is lacking on private sector perspectives and how economic factors (eg, fuel prices) might influence the development and sale of TNDs. METHODS: A sample of realtors from the National Association of Realtors (n = 4950) and developers from the National Association of Home Builders (n = 162) were surveyed in early 2009 to assess factors influencing homebuyers' decisions; incentives and barriers to developing TNDs; effects of depressed housing market conditions and financing on sales; trends in buying; and energy considerations (eg, green building). RESULTS: Realtors believed that homebuyers continue to rank affordability, safety and school quality higher than TND amenities. Developers reported numerous barriers to TNDs, including the inability to overcome governmental/political hurdles, lack of cooperation between government agencies, and lack of market demand. Yet, realtors believed clients are increasingly influenced by gas and oil prices, and developers reported that clients are looking for energy efficient homes, reduced commute time, and walkable neighborhoods. Respondents reported consumers are more interested in living in a TND than 5 years ago. CONCLUSIONS: Activity-friendly TNDs appear to be increasing in demand, but developers and realtors reported significant barriers to creating these communities.

Environmental and policy approaches for promoting physical activity in the United States: a research agenda.

BACKGROUND: Environmental and policy approaches are promising strategies to raise population-wide rates of physical activity; yet, little attention has been paid to the development and prioritization of a research agenda on these topics that will have relevance for both researchers and practitioners. METHODS: Using input from hundreds of researchers and practitioners, a research agenda was developed for promoting physical activity through environmental and policy interventions. Concept mapping was used to develop the agenda. RESULTS: Among those who brainstormed ideas, 42% were researchers and 33% were practitioners. The data formed a concept map with 9 distinct clusters. Based on ratings by both researchers and practitioners, the policy research cluster on city planning and design emerged as the most important, with economic evaluation second. CONCLUSIONS: Our research agenda sets the stage for new inquiries to better understand the environmental and policy influences on physical activity.

Policy influences on community trail development.

This study explores processes and policies that facilitate the development of community trails. With funding from Active Living Research and the research framework of the Physical Activity Policy Research Network (PAPRN), we conducted a multiple-site case study. A total of six trails in Hawaii, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington were chosen for study. The goals of this case study were to identify the policy influences on trail development, explore the roles of key players in trail development, and compare and contrast findings from the different trails. Trail development can be a long process. Some of the trails took over a decade to complete because of funding, opposition, and roadblocks in the form of design standard policies. Work in trail development requires a team of many players, and it is necessary to balance their varied motives to accomplish a shared overall goal. Foresight through the master planning process is also a vital component of successful trail development. Finally, community involvement is key. Communities contemplating trail development should explore the effects of policy on the trail projects reported here to proactively identify potential influence.