Political activity for physical activity: health advocacy for active transport.

Rosalina Richards,Linda Murdoch,Qa-T-A Amun,Anthony I Reeder

doi:10.1186/1479-5868-8-52

Abstract

Effective health advocacy is a priority for efforts to increase population participation in physical activity. Local councils are an important audience for this advocacy. The aim of the current study was to describe features of advocacy for active transport via submissions to city council annual plans in New Zealand, and the impact of an information sheet to encourage the health sector to be involved in this process. Written submissions to city council's annual consultation process were requested for 16 city councils over the period of three years (2007/08, 2008/09, and 2009/10). Submissions were reviewed and categories of responses were created. An advocacy information sheet encouraging health sector participation and summarising some of the evidence-base related to physical activity, active transport and health was released just prior to the 2009/10 submission time. Over the period of the study, city councils received 47,392 submissions, 17% of which were related to active transport. Most submissions came from city residents, with a small proportion (2%) from the health sector. The largest category of submissions was in support of pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, design and maintenance of facilities and additional features to support use of these transport modes. Health arguments featured prominently in justifications for active transport initiatives, including concerns about injury risk, obesity, physical inactivity, personal safety and facilities for people with disabilities. There was evidence that the information sheet was utilised by some health sector submitters (12.5%), providing tentative support for initiatives of this nature. In conclusion, the study provides novel information about the current nature of health advocacy for active transport and informs future advocacy efforts about areas for emphasis, such as health benefits of active transport, and potential alliances with other sectors such as environmental sustainability, transport and urban planning and local communities.

Highlights

Health advocacy is defined as a ’combination of individual and social actions designed to gain political commitment, social acceptance, and supportive policy and systems’ [1] and is a central component of successful health promotion [2].Many factors underpinning the effective practice of advocacy remain relatively undocumented [3,4]
Sources of submissions to councils about active transport The majority of submissions identified were from private residents/households (78%, n = 2163), and community boards/groups (14%, n = 375), with smaller proportion coming from the health sector (2%, n = 61), business organisations (2%, n = 47), sport and recreation (Regional Sports Trusts/Sport and Recreation New Zealand) (1%, n = 32) and others (4%, n = 106)
Requests made in submissions to councils about active transport Multiple requests were allowed for each submission, with 6,466 in total recorded

Summary

Introduction

Many factors underpinning the effective practice of advocacy remain relatively undocumented [3,4]. Given the importance of advocacy for advancing health outcomes, the health sector urgently needs to build its capacity in this area. One health issue where effective advocacy is a priority is for increasing population participation in physical activity [5]. The recently developed Toronto Charter for Physical Activity outlines a framework for action to advance the physical activity agenda [9]. The Charter is an advocacy tool to support physical activity initiatives and calls for action across four key areas; implementation of national policy and action plans, introduction of policies that support physical activity, reorientation of services and funding to prioritise physical activity and development of partnerships for action

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion