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Abstract Objectives With the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 a global pandemic impacted on health promotion, overlapping and hindering efforts to overcome the worldwide pandemic of lacking physical activity (PA). Nationwide lockdowns, the closure of public facilities and sports venues, made it significantly more difficult to sustain community-run PA projects. In our case study, we explore (a) under which circumstances a community-basedhealth promotion project can be maintained during crisis and (b) what resilience capacities are important for community project coordinators to deal with those aggravating circumstances. Methods Our case study looks at a community-based project called BIG, an exercise promotion project for women in difficult life circumstances. The case study was conducted between July 2021 and January 2022 with six municipalities implementing the project. Following a triangulation approach, we used minutes from short exchanges (n=17) with community project coordinators, information brochures about current exercise classes (n=6) and semi-structured qualitative interviews with project coordinators (n=6). All data were analyzed using the framework approach. Results All sites showed a high level of willingness to adapt to the pandemic situation and to maintain the project as best as possible. Findings highlight that coordinators whose work routine was characterized by intense relationship management with participants and trainers demonstrated higher levels of adaptive and absorptive capacities on an individual level than coordinators of those communities with less social cohesion. At a community level, important resources for strengthening adaptive and absorptive resilience capacities were job security of the coordinators, sufficient financial resources to adapt classes to changing circumstances, and a supportive organizational climate in the coordinators’ working environment to allow them to react flexibly according to current pandemic regulations. Conclusion Despite high resilience capacities especially on an individual level, the low-threshold nature of the project could not be maintained at a pre-pandemic level. For many women, participation in the project was no longer possible at times. Awareness should be raised in communities that PA promotion programs are crucial to strengthening physical and mental health, even in times of crisis. It seems necessary to find permanent funding options for such programs, to integrate them permanently into municipal structures.

BackgroundRegular physical activity has positive effects on both physical and mental health. Nevertheless, socially disadvantaged women are often insufficiently physically active. Through needs-based physical activity offers, community-based participatory research (CBPR) projects have the potential to reach these women and increase the effectiveness of physical activity interventions by supporting women's empowerment, health, and health behaviors. This study aimed to examine socially disadvantaged women's views on the effects of long-term participation in Bewegung als Investition in Gesundheit (BIG, i.e., movement as an investment in health), a long-standing German CBPR project, on their health and health behavior.MethodsSemi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 30 participating women at five BIG sites across Germany between April and August 2022. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using framework analysis.ResultsWomen reported that participation in BIG classes contributed to their physical, mental, and social health. For many women, the positive effects on their mental and social wellbeing were most important. In addition to increased fitness and improved physical endurance, many participating women were able to expand their social networks, thus receiving further social support, and improve their self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-efficacy. Furthermore, participation in BIG physical activity classes positively influenced the health awareness of many women helping them to improve their activity level and diet over time.ConclusionOur results suggest that CBPR projects, such as the BIG project, can increase physical activity among socially disadvantaged groups and contribute to their overall health and wellbeing. CBPR projects could thus be considered a key element of health promotion for this target group. Future interventional research is required to confirm and further explore the effects of CBPR interventions and to examine whether the effects can be replicated in other settings.

Men aged 50 or older (50 plus) represent a hard-to-reach target group for health-enhancing physical activity (PA) interventions. However, a considerable percentage of men 50 plus do not entirely fail to achieve the PA milestones set by the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. They show fluctuating PA behavior, influenced by various barriers hindering or preventing regular PA participation. As “one-size-fits-all” behavioral change interventions are only partially effective in specific subgroups, it is essential to tailor PA promotion measures to the particular needs of male fluctuators 50 plus. The standardized questionnaire included validated instruments measuring participants’ current stage of behavioral change, their perceived barriers to PA, questions on selected psychosocial correlates of PA, and sociodemographic variables. Out of 1,013 participants, 133 men (13.1%) classified themselves as fluctuators. Using a person-centered approach, we formed groups with similar intra-individual relevant barrier profiles using hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward method) followed by k-means clustering. We identified four clusters. Cluster 1 ( n = 31) involves men predominantly perceiving physical constraints. Cluster 2 ( n = 33) represents men lacking self-motivation and struggling with their weaker selves. Men in Cluster 3 ( n = 51) primarily indicate professional and private obligations that prevent them from being physically active. Finally, men in Cluster 4 ( n = 18) miss appropriate sports courses that meet their individual needs. Our findings support identifying individually tailored strategies designed to promote regular PA in male fluctuators 50 plus. Further research is required to determine the effectiveness of this approach in improving adherence to PA guidelines and corresponding health-enhancing effects for men 50 plus.

IntroductionCommunity-based participatory research (CBPR) is an effective health promotion approach for reaching socially disadvantaged groups. However, there is limited evidence on how such interventions and their effects can be reproduced across time and place. The present study examines the effects of BIG (i.e., movement as an investment in health), a long-standing German CBPR project. Since 2005, BIG has aimed to empower women in difficult life situations to increase control over their health determinants and reduce social inequalities by promoting physical activity. One of BIG's key features is its implementation in several German municipalities since 2005. This study explores (a) whether participation could change women's empowerment, and (b) how increased empowerment affects other areas of women's lives.MethodsWith a total of 63 interviewees (i.e., 40 participating women, 7 trainers, 3 project coordinators, and 13 stakeholders), we conducted 53 semi-structured qualitative interviews in five BIG communities between 2007 and 2011. Some interviews were conducted with two people simultaneously. The interview guide contained questions on various dimensions of empowerment (e.g., project engagement, increased self-efficacy, and developed competencies). Framework analysis was used for the analytical process.ResultsBIG contributed to women's empowerment in various ways, including increased self-efficacy, social network promotion, competency development, and increased motivation to change physical activity behavior. Women who took on added tasks and became more involved in project planning also strengthened their organizational empowerment. Furthermore, increased empowerment had a positive influence on the women's quality of life, family, and professional lives.ConclusionThe novel findings helped in understanding the effects of a complex empowerment-based approach that promoted physical activity among women in difficult life situations. Future research should focus on the long-term effects of these programs and their transferability to other sites. Further effort is necessary in the area of public health policy.

The text discusses the increasing incidence of fractures of the pelvis and acetabulum, particularly among elderly women, and the associated medical and economic burdens on healthcare systems. It highlights recent innovations in diagnosis and treatment, such as minimal invasive surgery and patient-centered medicine. Studies in the Special Issue focus on topics like percutaneous fixation in acetabular fractures, risk factors for post-traumatic osteoarthritis, and the timing of surgery in geriatric patients. The text emphasizes the need for further research on socio-economic and psychosocial consequences of fragility fractures, as well as improvements in prevention and treatment strategies to minimize the impact of these fractures. [Extracted from the article]