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IMPALA IMproving infrastructures for leisure-time Physical Activity in the Local Arena

Projectomschrijving

Het IMPALA-project is opgezet om de lokale infrastructuur voor bewegen in de vrije tijd te verbeteren. Europese onderzoekers en beleidsmakers hebben een set ‘good practices’ op het gebied van planning, financiering, bouw en management ontwikkeld, die lokale partijen helpen om bewegen te stimuleren. De richtlijn is het resultaat van het bespreken en analyseren van nationaal beleid en mechanismen voor beleidsontwikkeling in 13 Europese landen. IMPALA heeft een werkpakket gemaakt om de richtlijnen te verspreiden, te coördineren en te implementeren.

De IMPALA-richtlijn heeft twee speerpunten: het betrekken van meerdere stakeholders en het verminderen van gezondheidsachterstanden bij kwetsbare groepen. Door bijvoorbeeld mindervaliden en lage-inkomensgroepen te stimuleren om te bewegen, kunnen deze gezondheidsachterstanden worden verkleind. 

De resultaten en het officiële eindproduct van IMPALA, de ‘good practice guideline’ zijn te vinden op impala-eu.org.

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Samenvatting van de aanvraag

Objectives: The IMPALA project pursues the general objective to identify, implement, and disseminate good practice in the planning, financing, building and managing of local infrastructures for leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). Strategic relevance: IMPALA will assist in concerting efforts for the development of local infrastructures for LTPA in EU member states. In contrast to individual psychosocial interventions promoting LTPA to which participants have to consent to be exposed, environmental interventions have the substantial advantage that the population at large is exposed. As a result, environmental interventions also reach subgroups of the population that are otherwise difficult to engage in health promoting activities. Potentially, IMPALA will thus help reduce inequalities in access to infrastructures for LTPA within and across nations. IMPALA also adds to a WHO-project funded by DG SANCO, which aims to develop an information and reporting system (database) on: Nutrition/diet, Physical activity, and Obesity. In the area of physical activity, key components are: population physical activity levels; relevant policy documents; relevant policy implementation indicators; statutory and voluntary regulations, guidelines, codes of practice; and good practice case studies. Methods and means: IMPALA will collect information on existing policies and mechanisms through qualitative interviews with experts and policy-makers on national levels. This qualitative work will be done using individual semi-structured interviews as well as a focus group discussion using a semi-structured interview format. A dialogue on existing good practices will be established through a two-day international workshop meeting with the IMPALA project group. Good practices will be identified by generating a checklist of quality standards and assessing existing national policies and mechanisms against this checklist in participating nations. Results will be disseminated and implemented through national workshops with experts and policy-makers. IMPALA is organized along the lines of 6 work packages (WP). WP1 involves identifying national policies for the development of local infrastructures for LTPA. WP2 involves identifying national mechanisms for the development of local infrastructures for LTPA. WP3 involves identifying good practices for the development of local infrastructures for LTPA. WP8 involves the international coordination of the project. WP9 involves the dissemination of the project. WP10 involves the evaluation of the project in terms of process, output, and outcome. Expected outcome: IMPALA shall result in a checklist of quality standards for policies and mechanisms for the development of local infrastructures for LTPA. Furthermore, it shall result in an assessment of practices in the participating nations against this checklist. All good practices will be collected and will be made available to stakeholders in all participating countries. On the national levels, IMPALA shall stimulate a dialogue among scientists, experts, and policy-makers on these quality criteria. Experts and policy-makers from non-participating EU nations, as well as representatives from WHO, shall be informed about the project and its outcomes through a conference/satellite meeting. TNO Quality of Life (TNO) is involved in IMPALA as the work package leader of WP1 and WP10. As such, TNO has a leading role in the development of the sampling strategy and interview guidelines that will be used within the Netherlands and internationally. This leading role allows TNO to choose project directions that match with other current initiatives in The Netherlands (such as: efforts by the Ministry of Housing, Spacial Planning and the Environment to build and maintain a network consisting of scientists, policy-makers and practitioners in the area of “healthy environment”). Also, IMPALA will provide insight in good practices in the areas of policies as well as mechanisms for the development of local infrastructures for LTPA, which will sustain and improve The Netherlands’ position in this area. In the most recent call of DG Sanco’s program, IMPALA has received the highest rating. It was therefore granted funding. TNO currently seeks additional funding from ZonMw.

Onderwerpen

Kenmerken

Projectnummer:
121020023
Looptijd: 100%
Looptijd: 100 %
2009
2011
Onderdeel van programma:
Projectleider en penvoerder:
Dr. ir. M.W. Verheijden
Verantwoordelijke organisatie:
TNO