Premier's Physical Activity Taskforce
PRESENTATION AT SPORT INFORMATION WORKSHOP
Sharing information and building relationships
13 – 15 November 2002
Contact: Jennifer Riatti
Project Manager
Physical Activity Taskforce
PH: 08 9382 5982
Email: jriatti@dpc.wa.gov.au
Website: http://www.patf.dpc.wa.gov.au
In 1998/99 the previous government felt, after consultations, that physical activity was a significant community health issue. In order to develop a range of new strategies to support physically active lifestyles for all West Australians it was necessary to conduct some research to assess levels of physical activity within the community and begin to arrive at some understandings of attitudes, beliefs and behaviours towards physical activity.
This survey was conducted in 1999 on 3,178 adults and was a collaborative effort between the Health Department, Sport and Recreation Way2Go and the Department of Public Health at the University of western Australia. The results showed that only 58% of West Australians are sufficiently active for good health, which meant that 605,000 adults in WA needed to become more active.
There were ten recommendations from the report and the result was the establishment, by the new premier Geoff Gallop, of a Physical Activity Taskforce to oversee the development and implementation of a whole of community, four-year physical activity plan for Western Australia. A target was set to raise the physical activity levels of all West Australians by five percent over ten years i.e. from 58% to 63% of West Australians being sufficiently active.
A definition had to be agreed to as to what is physical activity and it was defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that result in energy expenditure. It is an umbrella term that includes: exercise, fitness, incidental activity, active living, active sport and recreation. The national standard to be adopted recommends thirty minutes of moderate-intensity activity on most, if not all days of the week.
To assist in the development of a comprehensive Taskforce strategy six working parties were established. They were:
Each of the working parties was asked to work on high level, whole-of-government approaches and they had common Terms of Reference.
In addition they worked to the following Guiding Principles:
They also had a common Reporting Framework, which covered outcome, evidence, policy, environment, community, education and skills development, learning from skills in other endeavours, justification/rationale. In addition, there were a large number of community consultations across the state, seeking local community input to the issues around physical activity and determining potential areas of support for the strategy.
All of these structures and their detailed literature searches, research reviews and summaries, and consultations resulted in the development of a Strategic Direction Report from the Premier’s Physical Activity Taskforce. This document highlighted the Vision of the Taskforce:
The individual and community benefits of physical activity will be recognised, valued and supported by community and government; and environmental and policy supports will allow a 5% increase in physical activity levels by 2011.
Five key outcomes were developed to assist the Taskforce in achieving its’ vision:
Once Cabinet had endorsed this Strategic Directions Report, The work of a number of the working groups was completed. Three working groups now support the Premier’s Physical Activity Taskforce. They are:
Evaluation and Monitoring
Three levels of evaluation are being utilised. They are:
1.Process evaluation – To provide insights into how much intervention the key government agencies are delivering. This will assist in identifying success in reaching target groups as well as which key outcome areas are being overlooked.
2.Impact evaluation – To provide information about the short-term outcomes being achieved by the program activities of the key Government agencies in key impact areas; psychosocial, behavioural, environments, and policies.
3.Outcome evaluation – To provide regular monitoring of physical activity levels e.g. adults survey 2002, children’s survey 2003.
Communications
The overall aim of the communications strategy is to contribute to increasing physical activity by increasing awareness of the type and frequency of physical activity necessary for a health benefit; to influence mediators of physical activity; and to encourage use of existing opportunities. There are three key elements:
The Guiding Principles of the Communications Strategy are:
- Branding
The benefits of having active healthy children and adults leading positive lifestyles in vibrant communities are difficult to measure, yet are critical to our personal and community well being. The potential positive contribution of physical activity to decreased isolation, increased civic engagement and increased skills for participation in society can be harnessed for the benefit of the whole community.
Bull, F., Milligan, R., Rosenberg, M., and MacGowan, H. (2000) Physical Activity Levels of West Australian Adults1999 Published by the Health Department of Western Australia and Sport and Recreation Way2Go, Western Australian Government, Perth: Western Australia.
Getting Western Australians More Active – A Strategic Direction Report from the Premier’s Physical Activity Taskforce (October 2001)
Shilton, T. et al, Promoting physical activity - Ten recommendations from the Heart Foundation. (April 2001)
This is an archive copy of a paper presented at 'Sharing information and building relationships - the Sport Information Workshop, 13–15 November, 2002, Perth WA' all copyright remains with the author.
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