Factors influencing physical activity level of the inhabitants in Norway and Poland - the case of sports and recreation infrastructure

Physical activity is of great importance for physical and mental health of the society. Both in Norway and in Poland, responsibility for actions in the field of physical activity largely rests at the lowest level of the administration structure - municipal governments. The aim of this study was to determine the declared level of physical activity of surveyed groups from two different countries and factors influencing it. Focus was put on local sports and recreation infrastructure in research regions. The research process was based on diagnostic survey method, but it also involved analysis of documents, subject literature and existing statistical data. The research was carried out in local municipalities in two regions: Inner Sogn in Norway (8 municipalities) and Kalisz county in Poland (11 municipalities) and included surveys collected from in total 760 adult respondents, as well as interviews with representants of all 19 local governments who work in the field of physical activity. Results show that among respondents from Norway the physical activity level is 2 times higher than among respondents from Poland. It is also proven that Norwegians use sports and recreation infrastructure more often and they evaluate it much better than Poles. What is more, in both groups, those persons who use infrastructure have significantly higher physical activity level. A conclusion can be presented that the local governments, especially in Poland, should pay more attention to the offer of sports and recreation infrastructure, because that will make inhabitants more satisfied with it and use it more. This in consequence, will positively influence their level of physical activity. It is important to note that there are also other factors strongly influencing people's physical activity, such as internal and external motivation and attractiveness of the area. That is why research on factors influencing physical activity needs to be continued

Personleg råd og hjelp reduserer talet redningsaksjonar

Mountain tourism is in rapid growth, and Norway is receiving its share. This again has led to unprecedented levels of mountain rescue missions, which has trespassed the capacity of the mountain rescue service at some destinations. In this article we develop and test an analytical framework for assessing the effectiveness of different measures to increase the safety of mountain tourists. The analysis builds on statistics for mountain rescue missions, a review of measures to increase safety and interview with stakeholders in destination marketing organisations, volunteer rescue organisations, the professional public rescue services and the tourism industry. We find that the introduction of guardians that provide advice at the starting point of the hike or on the marked trail to mountain tourists correlates with a reduction of mountain rescue missions. We also assessed the relationship between accidents and weather conditions, and find that after the introduction of guardians, the relationship between accidents and bad weather changes from positive to inverse, indicating the strong effect guardians have on tourist behaviour

Personleg råd og hjelp reduserer talet redningsaksjonar

Mountain tourism is in rapid growth, and Norway is receiving its share. This again has led to unprecedented levels of mountain rescue missions, which has trespassed the capacity of the mountain rescue service at some destinations. In this article we develop and test an analytical framework for assessing the effectiveness of different measures to increase the safety of mountain tourists. The analysis builds on statistics for mountain rescue missions, a review of measures to increase safety and interview with stakeholders in destination marketing organisations, volunteer rescue organisations, the professional public rescue services and the tourism industry. We find that the introduction of guardians that provide advice at the starting point of the hike or on the marked trail to mountain tourists correlates with a reduction of mountain rescue missions. We also assessed the relationship between accidents and weather conditions, and find that after the introduction of guardians, the relationship between accidents and bad weather changes from positive to inverse, indicating the strong effect guardians have on tourist behaviour

Physical Activity of Polish and Norwegian Local Communities in the Context of Self-Government Authorities’ Projects

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between the physical activity (PA) undertaken by two groups of residents living in Poland and Norway, and projects run by their respective local authorities. A secondary goal is to determine PA levels in the studied social groups. Two representative groups (one from each country) were examined using a diagnostic survey, supported by questionnaires and interviews. The Polish cohort consisted of 382 respondents who were residents of 11 municipalities in the Kalisz district of the Greater Poland voivodship. The Norwegian cohort was made up of 378 residents of 8 Indre Sogn municipalities from the Sogn og Fjordane region. Norwegians are twice as physically active as Poles and assess their municipal sport and recreation facilities to be much better. There is no statistically significant relationship between Polish and Norwegian PA levels in the two studied groups and their positive views on the impact of their local governments’ projects to promote PA. Statistically significant correlations occurred between the frequency of PA undertaken, the time pattern of class unit, MET level (metabolic equivalent) and the declared use of the sport and recreation facilities of the two communities. Both groups are more willing to be active outdoors than indoors and thus municipal authorities should take particular care about the state of outdoor sports and recreation infrastructure. An innovative and original action model is presented to assist local authorities in their attempts to raise PA levels in their communities