International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Collaborative Development of an Instrument to Monitor Physical Activity Promotion Based on Policy-Makers’ Needs – the TARGET:PA Tool

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Peter Gelius 1
Sven Messing 2
Karim Abu-Omar 2
Isabel Marzi 2
Franziska Beck 2
Wolfgang Geidl 2
Eva Grüne 2
Antonina Tcymbal 2
Anne Kerstin Reimers 2
Klaus Pfeifer 2
1 Institute of Sport Sciences, Université de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
2 Department of Sport Science and Sport, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany
10.34172/ijhpm.8720
Abstract
Background 
To support policy development, a number of tools are available to inform policy-makers about the current status of physical activity (PA) promotion in a specific country. However, a recent exchange between policy-makers and researchers in Germany revealed two major gaps: First, examples of successful good practice projects are often not selected in an objective and systematic process. Second, there is usually no systematic assessment of “routine practice,” ie, PA promotion activities already taking place on large scale and regular basis. These issues are addressed by the newly developed TARGET:PA tool.
 
Methods 
The TARGET:PA tool was developed in a co-production process involving researchers from the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Physical Activity and Public Health (WHO CC) at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg and the policy unit in charge of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and non-communicable diseases at the German Ministry of Health. We documented the development process, details on the structure of the tool itself, and the outputs produced using the tool.
 
Results 
The development process involved a negotiation process between researchers and policy-makers and the need to adapt to extended decision-making timelines within the ministry. With regard to PA behavior at the individual level, the TARGET:PA tool includes an overview about (1) PA recommendations and (2) national PA prevalence rates. At the organizational/policy level, it contains information on (3) recommendations for PA promotion, (4) routine practice, (5) good practice projects, and (6) policies. Key outputs of the tool are policy briefs as well as scientific background documents.
 
Conclusion 
The TARGET:PA tool provides added value as it can support the integration of “good” and “routine” practices into the monitoring of PA promotion. While the tool has been developed and tested in Germany, it has the potential to be adapted to other countries, either by directly utilizing the tool or by emulating the collaborative development process to design new instruments adapted to specific contexts.
Keywords
Sports
Health
Active Transport
Tool Development
Policy
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International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 14, Issue 1
2025
Pages 1-9

  • Received Date 24 July 2024
  • Revised Date 17 April 2025
  • Accepted Date 13 September 2025
  • First Published Date 23 September 2025
  • Published Date 01 December 2025