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Play is key to healthy childhood development, yet, there is growing international concern around decreasing opportunities for children to engage in unstructured, outdoor play. While municipalities ...

Background: Attitudes and beliefs of policy influencers and the general public toward physical activity policy may support or impede population-level action, requiring improved understanding of aggregate preferences toward policies that promote physical activity. Methods: In 2016, the Chronic Disease Prevention Survey was administered to a census sample of policy influencers (n = 302) and a stratified random sample of the public (n = 2400) in Alberta and Québec. Using net favorable percentages and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ intervention ladder framework to guide analysis, the authors examined support for evidence-based healthy public policies to increase physical activity levels. Results: Less intrusive policy options (ie, policies that are not always the most impactful) tended to have higher levels of support than policies that eliminated choice. However, there was support for certain types of policies affecting influential determinants of physical activity such as the built environment (ie, provided they enabled rather than restricted choice) and school settings (ie, focusing on children and youth). Overall, the general public indicated stronger levels of support for more physical activity policy options than policy influencers. Conclusions: The authors’ findings may be useful for health advocates in identifying support for evidence-based healthy public policies affecting more influential determinants of physical activity.

Background: We are currently in a period of transition, from the pre-COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) era and the initial reactive lockdowns, to now the ongoing living with and potentially the after COVID-19 period. Each country is at its own individual stage of this transition, but many have gone through a period of feeling adrift; disconnected from normal lives, habits and routines, finding oneself betwixt and between stages, similar to that of liminality. Children and young people have been particularly affected. Aim: To increase the understanding of home and community-based strategies that contribute to children and young people’s capacity to adjust to societal changes, both during and after pandemics. Moreover, to identify ways in which children’s actions contribute to the capacity of others to adjust to the changes arising from the pandemic. The potential for these activities to influence and contribute to broader social mobilisation will be examined and promoted. Research design: To achieve the aim of this study, a participatory health research approach will be taken. The overarching theoretical framework of the COVISION study is that of liminality. The study design includes four work packages: two syntheses of literature (a rapid realist review and scoping review) to gain an overview of the emerging international context of evidence of psychosocial mitigations and community resilience in pandemics, and more specifically COVID-19; qualitative exploration of children and young people’s perspective of COVID-19 via creative outlets and reflections; and participatory learning and action through co-production.

The lack of policy, practice and research action on physical activity and features of the physical (built and natural) environments in rural, remote and northern settings is a significant threat to population health equity in Canada. This paper presents a synthesis of current evidence on the promotion of physical activity in non-urban settings, outcomes from a national priority-setting meeting, and a preliminary call to action to support the implementation and success of population-level initiatives targeting physical activity in non-urban settings.We conducted a "synopses of syntheses" scoping review to explore current evidence on physical activity promotion in rural, remote, northern and natural settings. Next, we facilitated a collaborative priority-setting conference with 28 Canadian experts from policy, research and practice arenas to develop a set of priorities on physical activity in rural, remote and northern communities. These priorities informed the development of a preliminary Canadian call to action.We identified a limited number of reviews that focused on physical activity and the built environment in rural, remote and northern communities. At the prioritysetting conference, participants representing rural, remote and northern settings identified top priorities for policy, practice and research action to begin to address the gaps and issues noted in the literature. These priorities include self-identifying priorities at the community level; compiling experiences; establishing consistency in research definitions and methods; and developing mentorship opportunities.Coordinated action across policy, practice and research domains will be essential to the success of the recommendations presented in this call to action.L’absence d’interventions en matière de recherche, de pratiques et de politiques relativement à l’activité physique et les particularités de l’environnement physique (bâti et naturel) en milieu rural ou éloigné et dans les régions du Nord constituent des freins importants à l’équité en santé de la population au Canada. Cet article présente une synthèse des données probantes pertinentes sur l’activité physique en milieu non urbain, les résultats d’une rencontre sur l’établissement de priorités nationales ainsi qu’un appel préliminaire à l’action en vue de favoriser la mise en place et la réussite, à l’échelle de la population, d’initiatives axées sur l’activité physique en milieu non urbain.Nous avons d’abord réalisé un examen de la portée des synopsis de synthèses pour étudier les données probantes pertinentes en lien avec la promotion de l’activité physique en milieu rural, éloigné ou naturel et dans les régions du Nord. Nous avons ensuite organisé une conférence à laquelle ont pris part 28 experts canadiens spécialisés en politiques, en recherche et en pratiques, afin de concevoir de manière concertée un ensemble de priorités sur l’activité physique en milieu rural ou éloigné et dans les régions du Nord. À la suite de cette rencontre, nous avons rédigé un appel à l’action préliminaire pour tout le Canada.Nous avons relevé relativement peu de travaux axés sur l’activité physique et l’environnement bâti en milieu rural ou éloigné et dans les régions du Nord. Lors de la conférence sur l’établissement de priorités, des participants représentant des milieux ruraux ou éloignés et des collectivités du Nord ont formulé les grandes priorités d’action en matière de politiques, de pratiques et de recherche pour commencer à réduire les écarts et résoudre les problèmes soulevés dans la littérature : le besoin d’identification au niveau communautaire; la compilation d’expériences; l’assurance d’une cohésion dans les définitions et les méthodes de recherche et enfin la création de possibilités de mentorat.Une action concertée entre les domaines des politiques, des pratiques et de la recherche est essentielle au succès des recommandations formulées dans cet appel à l’action.

Although alcohol consumption is considered a major modifiable risk factor for chronic disease, policies to reduce alcohol-related harm remain low on the Canadian policy agenda. The objective of this study was to understand support for population-level healthy public policies to reduce alcohol-related harm by assessing the attitudes of policy influencers and the public in two Canadian provinces, and by sociodemographic characteristics.A stratified sample of the general public (n = 2,400) and a census sample of policy influencers (n = 302) in Alberta and Quebec participated in the 2016 Chronic Disease Prevention Survey, which included questions to assess support for alcohol-specific policies. Differences in levels of support were determined by calculating differences in the proportion of support for alcohol control policies, comparing groups by regional and sociodemographic characteristics. The modified Nuffield Council on Bioethics Intervention Ladder was used to assess support according to the level of individual intrusiveness.We found that policy influencers and general public respondents were supportive of both information-based policies, with the exception of warning labels, and more restrictive policies targeting youth (e.g., enforcement). Both groups were less favorable to alcohol-specific policies that guided choice through disincentives (e.g., taxation). There were more differences in policy support by sociodemographic characteristics among the public.For health advocates to advance policies to reduce alcohol-related harms at the population level, they will need to mobilize additional support for more intrusive, yet more effective, policy interventions. Advocacy efforts should focus on communicating the effectiveness and positive outcomes of these interventions to help garner support.

To assess general public and policy influencer support for population-level tobacco control policies in two Canadian provinces.We implemented the Chronic Disease Prevention Survey in 2016 to a census sample of policy influencers (n = 302) and a random sample of members of the public (n = 2400) in Alberta and Quebec, Canada. Survey respondents ranked their support for tobacco control policy options using a Likert-style scale, with aggregate responses presented as net favourable percentages. Levels of support were further analyzed by coding each policy option using the Nuffield Council on Bioethics intervention ladder framework, to assess its level of intrusiveness on personal autonomy.Policy influencers and the public considered the vast majority of tobacco control policy options as "extremely" or "very" favourable, although policy influencers in Alberta and Quebec differed on over half the policies, with stronger support in Quebec. Policy influencers and the public strongly supported more intrusive tobacco control policy options, despite anticipated effects on personal autonomy (i.e. for policies targeting children/youth and emerging tobacco products like electronic cigarettes). They indicated less support for fiscally based tobacco control policies (i.e. taxation), despite these policies being highly effective.Overall, policy influencers and the general public strongly supported more restrictive tobacco control policies. This study further highlights policies where support among both population groups was unanimous (potential "quick wins" for health advocates). It also highlights areas where additional advocacy work is required to communicate the population-health benefit of tobacco control policies.Évaluer, dans deux provinces canadiennes, l’appui du grand public et d’influenceurs en matière de politiques vis-à-vis de politiques de lutte contre le tabagisme à l’échelle de la population.En 2016, nous avons mis en oeuvre le sondage Prévention des maladies chroniques auprès d’un échantillon d’influenceurs (n = 302) et d’un échantillon aléatoire de la population (n = 2400) en Alberta et au Québec (Canada). Les participants ont exprimé leur degré d’appui vis-à-vis de diverses politiques de lutte contre le tabagisme, au moyen d’une échelle de type Likert dont les réponses ont été regroupées sous forme de pourcentages favorables nets. Le degré de soutien a ensuite été analysé à l’aide du codage de chaque politique au moyen de l’échelle d’intervention du Nuffield Council on Bioethics, afin de mieux définir le degré d’intrusion qu’elle représente par rapport aux libertés individuelles.Si les influenceurs comme le grand public ont évalué comme « extrêmement » ou « très » positives une grande majorité des politiques de lutte contre le tabagisme, l’avis des influenceurs en Alberta et au Québéc a divergé sur plus de la moitié des politiques, l’appui ayant été plus marqué au Québec. Les influenceurs comme le grand public ont exprimé un soutien solide à plusieurs politiques de lutte contre le tabagisme très intrusives (c.-à-d. les politiques ciblant les enfants et les jeunes et les nouveaux produits associés au tabagisme comme les cigarettes électroniques), malgré des effets escomptés sur les libertés individuelles. Ils ont fait preuve d’un soutien moins important aux politiques fiscales de lutte contre le tabagisme (c.-à-d. la taxation), malgré l’efficacité prouvée de telles politiques.Dans l’ensemble, les influenceurs et le grand public se sont montrés très favorables à des politiques plus restrictives de lutte contre le tabagisme. Cette étude révèle quelles politiques reçoivent un appui unanime dans les deux groupes de population (de potentielles « victoires rapides » pour les défenseurs de la santé). Elle indique aussi pour quels sujets des efforts supplémentaires de sensibilisation sont nécessaires afin de mieux faire comprendre les avantages des politiques antitabac pour la santé des populations.Previous research has demonstrated that policy and environmental interventions are high-impact approaches to reducing smoking and tobacco consumption at the population level. Understanding the attitudes of policy influencers and members of the general public is essential, as their support can hinder or promote effective policy action. This study provides recent evidence on the attitudes of policy influencers and the public towards population-level tobacco control policies in two Canadian provinces. These findings will be useful for health advocates to identify policy areas where support is unanimous i.e. potential “quick wins”) as well as areas where support is weak or lacking consensus.Des recherches antérieures ont démontré que les interventions sous forme de politiques et au sein des milieux contribuaient grandement à la réduction, à l’échelle de la population, de la consommation du tabac (à fumer et sous ses autres formes). La compréhension des attitudes des influenceurs et du grand public est essentielle, car la mise en place de politiques efficaces sera difficile si leur appui est faible et sera facile si leur appui est vigoureux. Cette étude fait état de données récentes sur les attitudes des influenceurs et du grand public, dans deux provinces canadiennes, envers les politiques de lutte contre le tabagisme à l’échelle de la population. Ces données vont être utiles à la définition, par les promoteurs de la santé, des secteurs des politiques où l’appui est unanime (c.-à-d. les potentielles « victoires rapides ») et des secteurs où l’appui est faible ou inégal.

Internationally there is a move towards improving the impact of research by going beyond knowledge collection to bridging the gap between knowledge and action. Participatory health research (PHR) is an approach to research that blends the boundaries between research, knowledge, and action through participation. This chapter will specifically focus on some of the challenges and opportunities in demonstrating impact in PHR. We begin by presenting three essential dimensions of impact in PHR, a reflection of ongoing discussions among members of the International Collaboration for Participatory Health Research (ICPHR). Second, we outline some of the challenges and opportunities in demonstrating the impact of PHR in the health sciences along with examples from practice. Finally, we outline future opportunities for demonstrating the impact of PHR by describing a new internationally led project called the interactive knowledge base (iKB). The iKB aims to map the relationship between participation and impact, the scope of impacts that can be expected, and how these impacts manifest in different contexts of health research. This new project will help researchers and funders of health research to appropriately communicate and evaluate the impact of PHR through the development of this systematic and dynamic evidence base.