REPOPA- Research Into Policy to Enhance Physical Activity – 5-Year International Study

There is strong research evidence on the importance of physical activity on health. Further, several recommendations and policies to enhance physical activity have been developed in various countries. In spite of this, physical activity is far from optimal level. It is acknowledged that physical activity depends not only on individual factors and health care action, but also on policies in other sectors, social and cultural factors, and environment. This kind of research is multi-disciplinary relying on political science, social and behavioral science methods. It is based on the current health promotion approach, which is characterized by equal partnership and collaboration between academics, practitioners and policy makers – emphasizing the fact that real world policy making integrates research knowledge with practical know-how and contextual priorities and values – thus the term evidence-informed policy making. REPOPA project (www.repopa.eu) is a new international, 5-year study, funded (3 million Euros) by EU Framework 7, Health Research, coordinated by University of Southern Denmark. The project will study how best to base physical activity policy making on research evidence and at the same time take into account the realities of local, regional and national politics, resources and priorities. The project will consist of an initial mapping phase on how policies are developed now, followed by two parallel interventions on how policy making could be done: a) to increase cross-sector collaboration and b) how to include citizens into policy development. The project will conclude by developing and testing best policy making practices and tools. This presentation will present the REPOPA research plan, theoretical and methodological approach and it will search for interest in and potential links to parallel research activities in other cultures and contexts. 276 words