Alcohol and fast food sponsorship in sporting clubs with junior teams participating in the 'Good Sports' program: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine: alcohol and fast food sponsorship of junior community sporting clubs; the association between sponsorship and club characteristics; and parent and club representative attitudes toward sponsorship. METHODS: A cross-sectional telephone survey of representatives from junior community football clubs across New South Wales and Victoria, Australia, and parents/carers of junior club members. Participants were from junior teams with Level 3 accreditation in the 'Good Sports' program. RESULTS: A total of 79 club representatives and 297 parents completed the survey. Half of participating clubs (49%) were sponsored by the alcohol industry and one-quarter (27%) were sponsored by the fast food industry. In multivariate analyses, the odds of alcohol sponsorship among rugby league clubs was 7.4 (95%CI: 1.8-31.0, p=<0.006) that of AFL clubs, and clubs located in regional areas were more likely than those in major cities to receive fast food industry sponsorship (OR= 9.1; 95%CI: 1.0-84.0, p=0.05). The majority (78-81%) of club representatives and parents were supportive of restrictions to prohibit certain alcohol sponsorship practices, but a minority (42%) were supportive of restrictions to prohibit certain fast food sponsorship practices. CONCLUSIONS: Large proportions of community sports clubs with junior members are sponsored by the alcohol industry and the fast food industry. There is greater acceptability for prohibiting sponsorship from the alcohol industry than the fast food industry. Implications for public health: Health promotion efforts should focus on reducing alcohol industry and fast food industry sponsorship of junior sports clubs.

Systems approaches to population health in Canada: how have they been applied, and what are the insights and future implications for practice?

OBJECTIVES: Systems approaches are promising yet under-utilized methods for tackling complex public health problems. This paper explores how systems approaches are understood in the public health literature, how they have been applied in Canada, the insights, and implications for future practice. METHODS: A rapid review of the literature, including a content analysis and cross-case comparison, was conducted. It was used to distinguish concepts of systems approaches and identify case examples of the application of systems approaches in Canada. Seven cases with a population health perspective (non-health care related) were prioritized for analysis. RESULTS: Systems approaches are a variety of qualitative and quantitative methods that aim to understand a system of interest. Most case examples demonstrated systems thinking methods. Systems science methods were applied predominantly in health care. Only one case of systems science for the social determinants of health was found. Findings indicate that systems approaches were utilized because traditional methods were proving ineffective. These approaches can introduce new ways of thinking, enable collaboration across diverse stakeholders, identify where best to focus action and with what intensity, and provide more robust evidence for decision-making. CONCLUSION: There is a need to build capacity among practitioners for more widespread adoption and use of systems approaches. Population health professionals need to move beyond reductionist approaches, generate more case examples, and use an iterative evaluation approach that prioritizes the application of processes. This will provide further insight into the usefulness of systems approaches as effective methods to address complex health problems.

Cluster randomised controlled trial of a multicomponent intervention to support the implementation of policies and practices that promote healthier environments at junior sports clubs: study protocol.

INTRODUCTION: A large proportion of children and adolescents participate in organised sport, making community sports clubs a promising setting to support healthy behaviours. To date, however, there have been few interventions conducted in junior sports clubs that have targeted health-promoting practices. The primary aim of this pilot study is to assess the potential effectiveness of an intervention to implement health-promoting policies and practices in junior sporting clubs targeting alcohol and tobacco practices, healthy food and beverage availability, and physical activity via participation in sport. A secondary outcome is to assess the impact of such strategies on child exposure to alcohol and tobacco use at the club, purchasing behaviours by/for children at the club canteen and child sports participation opportunities. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study will employ a cluster randomised controlled trial design and be conducted in metropolitan and regional areas of two Australian states. Randomisation will occur at the level of the football league. Community football clubs with over 40 junior players (players under 18 years) within each league will be eligible to participate. The intervention will be developed based on frameworks that consider the social, cultural and environmental factors that influence health behaviours. Intervention clubs will be supported to implement 16 practices targeting alcohol management, tobacco use, nutrition practices, new player recruitment activity, equal participation for players and the development of policies to support these practices. Trained research staff will collect outcome data via telephone interviews at baseline and follow-up. Interviews will be conducted with both club representatives and parents of junior players. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study has been approved by the University of Newcastle Human Research Ethics Committee (H-2013-0429). The results of the study will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ACTRN12617001044314; Pre-results.