Social and Community Physical Activity

InterventionsEPHE 348

Nature of Social Support

Complex– Term was not even used 25 years ago– Social connections and support seems to be

hard wired Possible ingredients

– Information– Emotion– Context– Instrumental

What is Social Support then?

Laireiter and Baumann (1992):– Integration with family life, community, and access to support

systems

– Network of social resources

– Climate of the social relations

– Reciprocity of social relations

– Perception of support

Support Appraisal

Attachment (emotion) Social integration (network) Opportunity for nurturance (your assistance) Reassurance of worth (esteem) Reliable alliance (tangible aid) Guidance (information)

Social Support & PA Social Cognition

SS and intentions are related (medium effect)

Not the same as subjective norm or cohesion (small to medium relationships)

Highly related to self-efficacy and attitudes

SS & PA

Related (medium effect)

Rhodes (2001) review of all SS and PA studies - 48/49 identified the importance of SS as a Correlate

Kahn et al. (2002) showed limited utility used as a sole intervention

Community Interventions

Premise that entire communities can be targeted for behaviour change

Often include a number of delivery agents (institution, organization, group)

Community?

Aggregate of people who share values and infrastructure

Communities also make pragmatic sense for intervention:– Organized for dissemination (structure and

purpose)– Identity

Schools

Standard site for PA – PE

PE classes getting shorter and less frequent Avenues for improvement:

– Increase PA in PE– Increase extracurricular– Increase in-class activity (AS! BC)

Action Zones

Annual Planning Tools For Schools For Teachers

Action Zone Action Ideas! Menu of Physical Activity Best

Practices Action Pages!

AS! BC Program Components

Action Bins (classroom resource)

Technical Support (School Liaison facilitator)

This differed depending on condition

AS! BC Program Components

Work Site Interventions

Workplace wellness & PA:– Fitness & productivity– Reduced illness– Wide dissemination possibilities

Dishman et al. (1998) meta-analysis showed minimal effect

Health Care Settings

Simons-Morton et al. (1998) review:

– Primary prevention = some short-term changes but generally minimal effect

– Secondary prevention = mixed

Community/Policy Interventions

Legislation – formal legal structures Policy – formal guidelines

Based on smoking, these approaches may be very useful in PA intervention

Health promotion vs. health fascism?

Mass Media Interventions

Almost all developed countries have initiated campaigns– Increased awareness– Intention and behaviour change have not been

successful