Promoting knowledge to policy translation for urban health using community-based system dynamics in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Effectively bridging the knowledge-policy gap to support the development of evidence-based policies that promote health and well-being remains a challenge for both the research and policy communities. Community-based system dynamics (CBSD) is a participatory modelling approach that aims to build stakeholders' capacity to learn and address complex problems collaboratively. However, limited evidence is available about the contributions of CBSD to knowledge-generating and policy processes across sectors and policy spheres. In the context of a multi-country research project focused on creating an evidence base to inform urban health policies across Latin America, a series of CBSD workshops convened stakeholders from research, policy-making, and other backgrounds working in food and transportation systems. Diverse participants were selected aiming to incorporate multiple perspectives relevant to understanding complex urban systems linked to food and transportation. This study focuses on one of these workshops, whose avenue was São Paulo, Brazil, assembling country-based participants representing local, regional, national, and international institutions with multidisciplinary backgrounds linked to food and transportation systems. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this case study is to explore the perceived influence of one of these workshops on attendees' understandings of food and transportation systems and their relationship to healthy urban environments, with attention to the role of the workshop in supporting knowledge to policy translation for urban health. METHODS: We conducted 18 semi-structured qualitative interviews with attendees one year after their participation in a CBSD workshop held in São Paulo, Brazil. A framework method approach was used to code participants' responses and identify emerging themes. RESULTS: Participants reported that the workshop's group model-building activities influenced their understanding of the knowledge-policy process as it relates to food and transport systems. Workshop contributed to participants' (1) abilities to engage with multisectoral stakeholders, (2) construct a shared language and understanding of urban challenges, (3) improve understanding of the interconnectedness across food and transportation systems, (4) facilitate dialogue across sectors, and (5) apply a systems thinking approach within their sector and professional context. Participants continued to draw on the tools developed during the workshop, and to apply systems thinking to their research and policy-making activities. CONCLUSIONS: CBSD may offer valuable opportunities to connect the research sector to the policy-making process. This possibility may contribute to knowledge to policy translation in the interconnection between the urban context, food and transportation systems, and health.

Distribuição e qualidade de espaços públicos para atividade física de lazer em uma capital do Brasil / Distribution and quality of public spaces for physical leisure activity in a brazilian capital

As características físicas do ambiente podem contribuir na promoção da saúde, principalmente a disponibilidade e qualidade dos espaços públicos de lazer. O presente estudo tem como objetivo analisar a distribuição e a qualidade dos equipamentos para atividade física de lazer em uma capital brasileira. Foram avaliados 27 espaços públicos, incluindo parques, praças e canteiros habitáveis disponíveis no raio de 1.000 metros de três polos do Programa Academia da Saúde (PAS) no município de Belo Horizonte. Em 2019, os equipamentos foram auditados por meio da aplicação da versão adaptada do Physical Activity Resource Assessment (PARA), que avalia a existência, qualidade, segurança, limpeza e estética dos equipamentos. Frequências absolutas e relativas foram calculadas. Dos 27 locais avaliados, 22,2% eram parques (n = 6), 70,4% praças (n = 19) e 7,4% canteiros habitáveis (n = 2). Quadras de vôlei e campos de futebol foram os equipamentos mais identificados nos parques, presentes em todos os locais analisados, enquanto academias e estações de exercício ao ar livre foram os mais comuns nas praças (89,5%; 52,9%, respectivamente). Quanto aos canteiros habitáveis, apresentaram apenas quadras de vôlei/campos de futebol. Com relação à limpeza e estética, as maiores proporções foram pichações (74,1%), lixo espalhado/sujeira (74,1%), grama alta (44,4%) e sinais de vandalismo e sujeira de animais (37,0%). A pequena diversidade e qualidade ruim dos equipamentos, e as características inadequadas de limpeza e estética dos espaços de lazer no qual se encontram, podem impedir ou dificultar o uso dos mesmos para a prática de atividade física, demonstrando assim, a necessidade de investimentos mais expressivos nesses locais

The physical characteristics of the environment can contribute to health promotion, especially the availa-bility and quality of public leisure spaces. The present study aims to analyze the distribution and quality of equipment for leisure physical activity in a Brazilian capital. Twenty-seven public spaces, including parks, squares and boulevards available within a radius of 1,000 meters of three centers of the Health Academy Program (PAS) in the city of Belo Horizonte were evaluated. In 2019, the equipment was audited through the application of the adapted version of the Physical Activity Resource Assessment (PARA), which evaluates the existence, quality, safety, cleanliness, and aesthetics of the equipment. Absolute and relative frequencies were calculated. Of the 27 sites evaluated, 22.2% were parks (n=6), 70.4% were squares (n = 19), and 7.4% were boulevards (n = 2). Volleyball courts and soccer fields were the most identified equipment in parks, present in all analyzed places, while outdoor gyms and exercise stations were the most common in squares (89.5%; 52.9%, respectively). As for boulevards, they only had volleyball courts/soccer fields. Regarding cleanliness and aesthetics, the highest proportions were graffiti (74.1%), scattered garbage/dirt (74.1%), tall grass (44.4%), and signs of vandalism and animal dirt (37.0%). The small diversity and poor quality of equipment, and the inadequate characteristics of cleanliness and aesthetics of the leisure spaces in which they are located, can prevent or hinder their use for the practice of physical activity, thus demonstrating the need for more expressive investments in these places