Implementation evaluation of an Irish secondary-level whole school programme: a qualitative inquiry

Whole-of-school programmes (WSPs) are recommended to promote physical activity for adolescents. The Active School Flag (ASF) programme for secondary-level schools is one such WSP. Due to the difficulties of incorporating WSPs into the complex school system, there is a risk of poor implementation. The monitoring of unanticipated influences can help to understand key implementation processes prior to scale-up. The aims of this study were to identify perceived facilitators and barriers to implementing the ASF and recommend evidence-based implementation strategies. Focus groups and interviews (N = 50) were conducted in three schools with stakeholders involved in programme implementation, i.e. school management (n = 5), ASF coordinator (n = 4), student-leaders (aged 15–16 years) (n = 64) and staff committee (n = 25). Transcripts were analysed using codebook thematic analysis and were guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Implementation strategies were identified and were selected systematically to address contextual needs. Three themes surrounding the facilitators and barriers to implementation were generated: intervention design factors (e.g. capacity building and knowledge of implementers; and interest and buy-in for the programme), organizational factors (e.g. optimization of people and the busy school environment) and interpersonal factors (e.g. communication and collaboration). The examination of facilitators and barriers to implementation of the ASF has assisted with the identification of implementation strategies including (not limited to) a shared leadership programme for student leaders and a more flexible timeline for completion. These facilitative implementation strategies may assist in the effective implementation of the ASF

Regenerative Futures: From Global to Local Development in 2032

The ‘Regenerative Futures: From Global to Local Development in 2032’ project was jointly conceived by the Innovation School at Glasgow School of Art and the School of Cancer Sciences at the University of Glasgow. The project partnership involved a community of experts working across both organisations including the University of Glasgow’s Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre (ARC). Regenerative Design is about designing for people and the planet from a socio-ecological perspective. It seeks not merely to do less harm, but rather catalyses a positive force that restores, renews or revitalises products, services and systems to foster resilient and equitable futures for people and the planet. The Regenerative Futures project asked the final year BDes Product Design cohort to consider what happens in this landscape ten years from now, where Global Development has evolved to the extent that new forms of regenerative experiences of health, economies and citizenship transform how we interact with each other, with local and global communities, and the world around us. Working with an expert community of practice from the University of Glasgow’s Advanced Research Centre (the project’s partner) and a wider expert group of academic and professional stakeholders, the students, faculty, and experts co-researched, explored and designed speculative future worlds and experiences of regenerative global and local communities and systems leading towards equitable health, economies and citizenship in ten year’s time. In the first part of the project, the student cohort work in six groups to collectively research the brief, exploring the domains of Health, Economies and Citizenship from a Globally-Centred or Locally-Centred perspective. In-depth insights from the first stage fuel individual design work in Part Two. The second part of the project saw individual students select an aspect of their Future World research to develop as a design direction, which they then prototyped and produced as products, services, and/or systems. These are designed for specific communities, contexts or scenarios of use defined by the students to communicate a future experience. The output from this project is curated and presented as a public exhibition. The exhibition resulting from this research project includes products, services and experiences designed for the people who might live and work within these future contexts. Each ‘future world’ is situated within a discrete design domain: Health (Global + Local), Economies (Global + Local) and Citizenship (Global + Local). Exhibition dates: Tuesday 7th to Friday 10th February, 2023 Venue: Advanced Research Centre, University of Glasgow The deposited materials are arranged as follows: 1 - Regenerative Futures Project Brief. The Project Brief is developed as rationale, context and a guide to the project. 2 - Regenerative Futures Project Exhibition Guide. The Guide catalogues and describes the exhibits presented in the show. It takes you through each ‘Future World’ experience created by the students. It complements the videos and images presented in companion sections. 3 - Videos of the Regenerative Futures Exhibition. Here you will find short videos documenting the set-up of the exhibition and the exhibition itself. 4 - Images of the Regenerative Futures Exhibition. This section documents the Exhibition in images. 5 - Images of Studio Life. This section documents in images, the co-creation studio sessions with experts and the studio development of the show exhibits. 6 - Exhibition guides for each individual World View. These guides take you through each individual ‘Future World’; Health (Global + Local), Economies (Global + Local) and Citizenship (Global + Local)

Implementation evaluation of an Irish secondary-level whole school programme: a qualitative inquiry

Whole-of-school programmes (WSPs) are recommended to promote physical activity for adolescents. The Active School Flag (ASF) programme for secondary-level schools is one such WSP. Due to the difficulties of incorporating WSPs into the complex school system, there is a risk of poor implementation. The monitoring of unanticipated influences can help to understand key implementation processes prior to scale-up. The aims of this study were to identify perceived facilitators and barriers to implementing the ASF and recommend evidence-based implementation strategies. Focus groups and interviews (N = 50) were conducted in three schools with stakeholders involved in programme implementation, i.e. school management (n = 5), ASF coordinator (n = 4), student-leaders (aged 15–16 years) (n = 64) and staff committee (n = 25). Transcripts were analysed using codebook thematic analysis and were guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Implementation strategies were identified and were selected systematically to address contextual needs. Three themes surrounding the facilitators and barriers to implementation were generated: intervention design factors (e.g. capacity building and knowledge of implementers; and interest and buy-in for the programme), organizational factors (e.g. optimization of people and the busy school environment) and interpersonal factors (e.g. communication and collaboration). The examination of facilitators and barriers to implementation of the ASF has assisted with the identification of implementation strategies including (not limited to) a shared leadership programme for student leaders and a more flexible timeline for completion. These facilitative implementation strategies may assist in the effective implementation of the ASF

Barriers and facilitators to changes in adolescent physical activity during COVID-19

Objectives COVID-19 restrictions reduced adolescents’ opportunities for physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study was to examine how adolescent PA changed during school closures, to identify the key barriers and facilitators for these changes during lockdown and to use this information to understand how to manage future crises’ situations positively to prevent physical inactivity. Methods Irish adolescents (N=1214; ages 12–18 years) participated in an online cross-sectional study during April 2020, including items on PA level, changes in PA and reasons for change in an open-ended format. Numeric analyses were through multiple binary logistic regressions, stratified by changes in PA during lockdown and inductive analysis of open coding of text responses. Results Adolescents reported they did less PA (50%), no change (30%) or did more PA during lockdown (20%). Adolescents who did less PA were more likely to be overweight (OR=1.8, CI=1.2–2.7) or obese (OR=2.2, CI=1.2–4.0) and less likely to have strong prior PA habits (OR=0.4, CI=0.2–0.6). The most cited barriers to PA were coronavirus, club training cancelled and time. Strong associations for doing more PA included participation in strengthening exercises at least three times in the past 7 days (OR=1.7, CI=1.3–2.4); facilitators were more time, coronavirus and no school. Conclusion COVID-19 restrictions were both a barrier to and an opportunity for PA. Parents, schools, public health, communities and industries must collaborate to prevent physical inactivity at times of crisis, especially for vulnerable groups

Implementation evaluation of an Irish secondary-level whole school programme: a qualitative inquiry

Whole-of-school programmes (WSPs) are recommended to promote physical activity for adolescents. The Active School Flag (ASF) programme for secondary-level schools is one such WSP. Due to the difficulties of incorporating WSPs into the complex school system, there is a risk of poor implementation. The monitoring of unanticipated influences can help to understand key implementation processes prior to scale-up. The aims of this study were to identify perceived facilitators and barriers to implementing the ASF and recommend evidence-based implementation strategies. Focus groups and interviews (N = 50) were conducted in three schools with stakeholders involved in programme implementation, i.e. school management (n = 5), ASF coordinator (n = 4), student-leaders (aged 15–16 years) (n = 64) and staff committee (n = 25). Transcripts were analysed using codebook thematic analysis and were guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Implementation strategies were identified and were selected systematically to address contextual needs. Three themes surrounding the facilitators and barriers to implementation were generated: intervention design factors (e.g. capacity building and knowledge of implementers; and interest and buy-in for the programme), organizational factors (e.g. optimization of people and the busy school environment) and interpersonal factors (e.g. communication and collaboration). The examination of facilitators and barriers to implementation of the ASF has assisted with the identification of implementation strategies including (not limited to) a shared leadership programme for student leaders and a more flexible timeline for completion. These facilitative implementation strategies may assist in the effective implementation of the ASF.</p