The INTEGRATE PA-Pol Tool: Assessing National and City-level (mis)alignment during the Physical Activity Policy Stages

Abstract Overview

Background: Population-level physical activity increases are only possible with intersectoral collaboration across government levels and sectors to develop and implement physical activity promotion policies.
Purpose: This study aims to provide information about developing the “Interaction between National and Local Government Levels in Development and Implementation of Physical Activity Policies Tool” (INTEGRATE-PA-Pol).
Methods: A framework was created to examine the development and implementation of national and subnational physical activity promotion policies and the (mis)alignment between government levels. Three phases were conducted: 1) a scoping review to identify local government physical activity promotion policies and instruments for assessing them, 2) questionnaire development, and 3) cognitive response testing (validity testing and item modification) with experts.
Results: The search identified 89 articles, with 23 meeting the eligibility criteria for data extraction. These studies informed the development of the INTEGRATE-PA-Pol Tool, which is comprised of six questionnaires. It evaluates (1) the political system, governance, and internal structure of countries and cities of interest; (2) the main sectors involved in national/subnational physical activity policy development; and (3) the involvement of actors in five stages of the policy development cycle. The tool provided a scoring and analysis guide for generating quantitative summaries. This study produced a strong face, content validity, and feasibility tool for low- to medium-income Latin American countries to assess national/subnational physical activity policies and the (mis)alignment between government levels.
Conclusion: This tool can assist in better understanding the (mis)alignments between government levels and sectors during the policy process, uncovering policy gaps, and improving national/subnational policy translation.
Practical implications: Our tool will contribute to developing and implementing a global public policy monitoring system to enable benchmarking and priority setting for physical activity promotion policies.
Funding: Universidad de los Andes, Colombia; University of California San Diego, USA; Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil; CDC (U48DP006395).

Additional Authors

Name: Andrea Ramírez-Varela

Affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Center for Pediatric Population Health at , School of Public Health, and Department of Pediatrics at McGovern Medical School, UTHealth Science Center at Houston, Houston, USA.

Presenting Author: no

Name: Juliana Mejía-Grueso

Affiliation: Global Observatory for Physical Activity – GoPA!

Presenting Author: no

Name: Jane Moon

Affiliation: Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

Presenting Author: no

Name: Josef Mitáš

Affiliation: Faculty of Physical Culture, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic

Presenting Author: no

Name: Ross Brownson

Affiliation: 8 Prevention Research Center, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, USA