Gladwin Catherine P, Church John, Plotnikoff Ronald C
Centre for Health Promotion Studies, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB.
Can J Public Health. 2008 Jul-Aug;99(4):332-8. doi: 10.1007/BF03403767.
Public policies impact the amount of physical activity (PA) that children receive at school. These policies are of interest because overweight and obesity among Canadian children have grown at significant rates, and increasing PA among children is one way to reverse this trend. This research investigates the public policy processes that have resulted in Alberta's education system adopting in-school daily physical activity (DPA) and not supporting walk-to-school (WTS) initiatives.
Using the policy process described by Kingdon and others as a conceptual framework, this research reviews literature and documents on public policy relating to PA in schools and interviews key individuals (N = 20) to identify the policy-related facilitators and barriers in Alberta, Canada to increasing PA in school-aged children.
DPA was mandated because Kingdon's three policy streams (problem, solution and politics) became joined or linked. DPA was the most viable solution because literature supports and teachers believe in the educational benefits of PA. As well, a physician with personal beliefs about the benefits of PA became the minister of education and coupled the solution with the political stream through his ministerial power. Reasons that WTS programs have not become school or health policy include advocacy led by politically weak organizations, lack of a supportive policy entrepreneur and poor saliency among educators.
This research illuminates the inner workings of the policy process shaping PA in schools, identifying the unseen forces of the policy process that move issues forward. The findings provide valuable insight for building other healthy public policies.
公共政策会影响儿童在学校所接受的体育活动量。这些政策备受关注，因为加拿大儿童超重和肥胖现象显著增加，而增加儿童体育活动是扭转这一趋势的一种方式。本研究调查了导致艾伯塔省教育系统采用校内每日体育活动（DPA）且不支持步行上学（WTS）倡议的公共政策过程。
以金登等人描述的政策过程为概念框架，本研究回顾了与学校体育活动相关的公共政策文献和文件，并采访了关键人物（N = 20），以确定加拿大艾伯塔省在增加学龄儿童体育活动方面与政策相关的促进因素和障碍。
DPA成为一项指令，是因为金登的三个政策流（问题、解决方案和政治）相互结合或联系在一起。DPA是最可行的解决方案，因为文献提供了支持，且教师相信体育活动的教育益处。此外，一位对体育活动益处有个人信念的医生成为了教育部长，并通过其部长权力将该解决方案与政治流结合起来。WTS项目未成为学校或健康政策的原因包括由政治影响力较弱的组织主导的倡导、缺乏支持性的政策倡导者以及在教育工作者中缺乏显著的关注度。
本研究阐明了塑造学校体育活动政策过程的内部运作机制，确定了推动问题发展的政策过程中无形的力量。研究结果为制定其他健康公共政策提供了宝贵的见解。
