PAHRC events

Hosted by PAHRC and co-hosted with Active Scotland Division of Government

This was the 6th Year of the Scottish Physical Activity Research Connections (SPARC) conference co-hosted by Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC) and the Active Scotland Division of Government. The first five years were in-person events and hugely successful at creating a network of researchers, policy makers and practitioners in physical activity in Scotland.

In 2021 and in line with public health restrictions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we returned online with two themes:

• The eight investments that work for physical activity promotion
• Physical activity and Covid-19

On Wednesday 10th November our keynote speaker was Flora Jackson from Public Health Scotland. Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Public Health, Women’s Health and Sport delivered a short video presentation on Scottish physical health policy.

On Thursday 11th November our keynote was delivered by Dr Xanne Janssen of Strathclyde University and Professor Anna Whittaker of Stirling University. Dr Gregor Smith, Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, delivered a short video presentation on physical activity and prevention of Covid-19.

On each day there were workshops related to how to promote physical activity in each of the eight investments areas (Whole-of-School Programmes; Active Transport; Active Urban Design; Healthcare; Public Education, Including Mass Media; Sport and Recreation for All; Workplaces; Community-Wide Programmes) and on the use of the Actify platform.

Speaker biographies, the detailed Conference programme and further details about the workshops which were held can be found on the SPARC website.

We also offered the chance to present open communications related to the eight investments and to physical activity and Covid-19. These communications were research based/case studies of good practice. These can now be found,along with videos of the keynote speeches, on the SPARC 2021 Actify Hub at https://www.actify.org.uk/sparc2021

SPARC 2020 : Moving on from COVID-19: Supporting the population sit less and move more during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

In line with public health restrictions in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, SPARC 2020 will be held online this year, facilitated by the brilliant online physical activity platform ACTIFY.  

The theme will divided into 7 major aspects:

• PA & COVID-19
• Staying Active Outdoors
• Active Families
• Active Play
• Active Travel
• Mental Health
• Strength and Balance

The conference will include week long access to video presentations by expert in each field and LIVE Q&A/workshop sessions via video/audio/chat formats. There will be poster sessions, registrations for which will open shortly.

Live networking opportunities will also supported as well as active breaks, discussion forums and live Q&A with featured experts.

Feel free to contact us by email on SPARC@ed.ac.uk or on twitter @ScotPARC

Date/Time: Tuesday 11th November- Wednesday 18th November 2020  

Venue: ACTIFY online.

Further information on SPARC Conference website

SPARC 2019:  Last year, SPARC's theme was ‘communicating the message’ – how to ensure that policy, practice and research on physical activity for health are communicated effectively to all sectors of the community. 

Keynote Speaker: Professor Gerard Hastings OBE

Date/Time: Wednesday 6 November 2019

Venue: John McIntyre Conference Centre, University of Edinburgh.

Project 51 aims to tackle gender stereotyping at the grassroots by helping community groups in Scotland, the West Midlands and South West England to improve their knowledge and understanding of how to engage girls and young women (aged 11-18) in sport and physical activity.

Within these community groups across the UK  a team of ‘Young Influencers’ (aged 14-18) have been nominated, who are active and challenging the current status quo in the sporting world, to act as role models both locally and nationally to inspire other girls their age to take part in sport and physical activity. The aim is to increase confidence and aspiration in teenage girls and ensure they do not feel restricted by harmful gender stereotypes in any area of their life, especially in sport.

Three of the Young Influencers and Kat Hodge (Innovation Officer, Women in Sport) will be talking about the project and sharing their experience and views.

Date/Time: Wednesday 26 June 2019 / 12 noon - 1pm

Venue:  St Leonard's Land,  Room 3.24

Further information: Email Thelma.Dugmore@ed.ac.uk

All welcome to attend.

Seminar organised by Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC)

Scalability within Intervention Development: Learning from the Physical Activity for Health Research Cluster in Ireland

Professor Woods is Chair in Physical Activity for Health (PAH) in the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences at the University of Limerick (UL).  She is a member of UL’s Health Research Institute and her research cuts across its themes of lifestyle and health and technology.  She enjoys developing and testing theoretically sound interventions to change population levels of physical activity, and seeks better, more systematic methods of bringing research, practice and policy closer together to achieve real and sustainable impact.  Professor Woods believes that physical activity is a best buy for public health as it has the potential to improve health and wellbeing for everyone, irrespective of age, ability or condition.

Speaker: Professor Catherine Woods, University of Limerick

Date/Time: Wednesday 22 May 2019 / 12 noon - 1pm

Venue:  St Leonard's Land,  Room 2.14

Seminar organised by Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC)

Are challenges an effective tool for behaviour change? – Reflecting on the Scottish Workplace Journey Challenge 

The Scottish Workplace Journey Challenge* engages with workplaces across Scotland and encourages individuals to log their journeys to, from and for work. Our ultimate aim is to promote sustainable and active modes of transport and reward positive modal shift. Participants can create teams, follow other organisations and set targets for themselves. Prizes are given out weekly as a reward for participation.

We wanted to take this opportunity to share the results of this year’s challenge and open a discussion on the effectiveness of using such events to promote behaviour change. We would like this seminar to be a lively debate as we are really keen to hear your thoughts and opinions on the topic.

Speaker: Terry Roberts, Workplaces Delivery Coordinator, Sustrans

Date/Time: Wednesday 8 May 2019 / 12 noon - 1pm

Venue:  St Leonard's Land,  Room 2.14

*The Scottish Workplace Journey Challenge is run by Sustrans, the charity making it easier for people to walk and cycle.

Seminar organised by Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC)

Lee Craigie is the new Active Nation Commissioner for Scotland and has been appointed to help encourage an active nation where more people can enjoy the benefits of accessible walking and cycling than ever before. Lee’s role is to act as a national advocate for walking and cycling across the country, raising the profile of these inclusive and sustainable modes of travel while promoting their heath, environmental, social and economic benefits to everyone who lives, works in, or visits Scotland.

Speaker: Lee Craigie

Date/Time: Wednesday 24 April 2019 / 12 noon - 1pm

Venue:  St Leonard's Land,  Room 3.24

Seminar organised by Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC)

Easier said than done: Experiences and challenges in natural experimental evaluations

Physical activity reduces the risk of diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and the health of most people in the UK and many other countries would be improved if the population were to become more physically active. However, efforts to bring this about have met with little success to date. One reason may be that the environments we have created for people to live in — our cities, transport systems and workplaces, for example — are not sufficiently conducive to an active lifestyle. Changing the economic, physical and social factors that influence our behaviour is possible, but more scientific evidence about the effects of doing so is needed to guide policy and practice.

This talk will describe the results from and challenges in evaluating the impacts of environmental and policy changes, including deciding what to evaluate, when, how and with whom.

Speaker: Dr Jenna Panter

Date/Time: 27 March 2019 / 12 noon - 1pm

Venue:  St Leonard's Land,  Room 2.14

Seminar organised by Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC)