The EURO-PREVOB Policy Analysis Tool for Obesity Prevention: Pilot Testing In Turkey

EURO-PREVOB is a three-year EU funded project aiming to promote and support collaboration across existing networks to tackle the social and economic determinants of obesity in Europe (www.europrevob.eu). A key objective of EURO-PREVOB is to develop and pilot a policy analysis tool that is appropriate to different sub-regional contexts and assists stakeholders in assessing the potential impact of policies on determinants of obesity.

 The EURO-PREVOB policy analysis tool was developed in the first year of the project. It comprises a policy checklist exploring the development and implementation of policies related to food and nutrition, physical activity and inequalities in obesity (“policy on the book”), as well as a community questionnaire that includes direct measurements of the food and built environments in areas of varying socioeconomic levels (“policy on the street”).

 The tool has been piloted in five sub-regions of Europe to examine its relevance and applicability, as well as the suitability of the methods used. In Southern Europe, pilot work took place in Turkey. Data on national policies and information on the process of using the tool were collected by trained fieldworkers. For the community questionnaire, data was gathered in Ankara by two pairs of fieldworkers so that inter-rater-reliability could be examined. Results from the policy analysis and process evaluation in Turkey are currently being analysed and will be presented at the 12^th World Congress on Public Health.