Getting the inactive active: Barriers to physical inactivity and potential policy solutions

Dr David Meir, Lecturer in Sport & Physical Education

I have worked at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) for 8 years as a lecturer in sport and physical education. Over the last two years I have been involved in the production of two articles that explore sport and physical activity policy in Scotland. The first of these articles was entitled Country Profile: Sport and Physical Activity Policy in Scotland. Country profiles are a specific publication format for the International Journal of Sport Politics and Policy, and their intention is to increase awareness of the global diversity of sport policy and politics. I have written previously about this article for CCSE should you wish to explore the findings further.

The article is available open access, and you can download it for free. Following the publication of the Country Profile, I published an article that focused specifically on physical activity policy in Scotland. The article was titled What is the problem? A WPR analysis of physical activity policy in Scotland. The aim was to analyse the way in which the problem of physical inactivity was represented within Scottish Physical Activity (PA) and sport policy and to determine the impact of this representation on the realisation of the Scottish Governments intended PA outcomes. Several findings were presented including (1) the socio-economic and political challenge of getting the inactive active (2) the value and complexity of cross sector working to realising policy objectives and, (3) determining the role of sport in realising PA outcomes.

Whilst in the process of completing the publication of this article I applied for a Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) Fellowship. The Fellowship was an open call. David Scott from the University of Abertay and myself submitted a proposal. The aim of the research was to explore what can be done differently to address existing structural disadvantage and increase levels of participation in PA. The research sought to realise this aim through the following objectives: (1) critically explore the current social, political, cultural and economic barriers that limit engagement in PA, (2) collaboratively determine potential solutions to increase PA and, (3) provide informed recommendations for future PA policy.

The first stage of the fellowship was to publish an evidence review. The review was titled Getting the inactive active: Evidence review analysing existent cultural, social and economic barriers to physical inactivity and their potential policy solutions.In drawing from academic literature and policy the review outlined a series of recommendations regarding current policy enactment and future policy development. These recommendations included:

1. A renewed focus on the impact of poverty and material deprivation on inactivity through targeted interventions.
2. Building on the existing extensive knowledge base around health inequalities and their impact on inactivity
3. The requirement for an increased understanding of the growing disparity between those who are active and those who are not.
4. Determine how to make best use of the school estate regarding the provision of sport and PA opportunities for communities
5. Develop a better understanding of disparities of participation amongst different social groups e.g., ethnic minorities, people with a disability, older adults and, women and young girls
6. Addressing the limited evidence base to enable the development of appropriately informed policy and practice.

We presented the findings of our evidence review to the Cross Party Group on Health Inequalities at the Scottish Parliament. In building upon our findings within the evidence review we conducted a qualitative study. We were fortunate enough to engage with over 20 professionals from across the sport and PA landscape in Scotland and it was a privilege to have met with and talked at length to so many people who were passionate and highly informed about health, education, sport and PA. Our findings and recommendations are too numerous to lay out in full here but, the report presented ten recommendations that focused specifically on current policy enactment and ten recommendations that focused on future policy development. Key areas of focus included appropriate resource support for the implementation of a systems-based approach as proposed in the recent Physical Activity for Health Framework, opening up the school estate nationally and enabling national strategies to be delivered at the local level.

We have attended the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee to answer questions on our findings and will be presenting our work to MSPs at the Scottish Parliament on 1^st October. Whilst it is important to present these recommendations it will also be our intention to persuade MSPs to ensure the prominence of physical activity for health within their upcoming election manifestos. The report titled Getting the inactive active: Barriers to physical inactivity and potential policy solutions is available open access.

To help inform understanding of the reports’ conclusions and recommendations we would advise looking at the following policy documents:

A systems-based approach to physical activity in Scotland – Publications – Public Health Scotland

Physical activity for health: framework – gov.scot