{"id":1913,"date":"2025-06-06T22:59:46","date_gmt":"2025-06-06T21:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/CALRG\/?p=1913"},"modified":"2025-06-08T12:32:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T11:32:19","slug":"day-2-tuesday-17th-june-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/CALRG\/day-2-tuesday-17th-june-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 2-Tuesday 17th June 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tuesday 17th June 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

FACiliTating Physical Activity for people with long-term health conditions: understanding barriers and enablers for a fit society (FACT-PA) and how (educational) technology might help <\/strong><\/p>\n

Bart Rienties; Alison Buckler; Ben Oakley; Emma Harris; Fereshte Goshtasbpour; Jitka Vseteckova; Julia Sargent; Keetie Roelen; Zhraa Alhaboby; Liset Pengel; Randall Stafford; Genevieve Healy; Ashley Gunter; Sanja Musi\u0107 Milanovi\u0107<\/p>\n

Abstract:<\/strong>\u00a015 million people\u202fin the UK have a long-term health condition and are considerably less likely to undertake\u202fphysical activity\u202f(PA). Living a sedentary lifestyle increases the risks of all-cause mortality and exacerbates long-term health conditions, particularly cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. PA may counteract these risks as well as reduce anxiety, depression, psychological distress, cognitive decline and enhance quality of life.<\/p>\n

Health services are under increasing pressure to care for individuals with long-term health conditions, leading to high associated economic costs, which councils and local authorities struggle to meet. In parallel, the levels of available support and opportunities for affordable PA vary across the UK. With the current cost-of-living crisis,\u202fbeing physically active\u202fis increasingly\u202fan\u202findividual \u201cdecision\u201d\u202fstrongly influenced by\u202feconomic, medical, psychological, and social factors. This particularly disadvantages people with long-term health conditions and limited resources. The UK government and National Health Service have announced programmes focused on\u202fpreventative health care,\u202fincluding specific initiatives for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity.<\/p>\n

The development of sustainable, accessible solutions to enable\u202fworking-age\u202fpeople\u202fwith long-term health conditions to be\u202fphysically active\u202frequires an\u202finterdisciplinary, complexity-aware research approach. However, most research to date is\u202fincredibly siloed, and has not resulted in proven solutions for the complexities around PA, which need an\u202finterdisciplinary approach across key disciplines\u202f(e.g., medical and public health, psychology, economics, social sciences and humanities). Furthermore, most research lacks\u202fpatient and public involvement and engagement.\u202fTherefore, this symposium at CALRG aims to brings together\u202f25 leading experts\u202ffrom\u202ften universities\u202fand\u202feleven hospitals\u202fin\u202fsix countries\u202fto address the following objective:<\/p>\n

What are the main economic, medical, psychological, and social barriers and enablers for people with long-term health conditions to initiate and maintain physical activity, including how to overcome these barriers and positively reinforce enablers?<\/p>\n

We welcome everyone to contribute to this symposium, as everyone is a stakeholder in their own physical and mental health and others around them. We aim to use the insights and contributions to further fine-tune our UKRI proposal and we welcome contributions from across the disciplines.<\/p>\n

Overcoming Tyrannies in Campaigns for Impact <\/strong><\/p>\n

Anne Adams (IET), Gareth Davies (RES), Gabi Kent (FASS), Gaia Cantellia (RES)<\/p>\n

Abstract:\u202f<\/strong>\u00a0From the Northern Ireland\u202fLearning from \u2018<\/em>Why Riot?\u2019<\/em><\/a>\u202f(LfWR) action research to \u2018Spinal Injury Association\u2019 projects\u202fwe have been supporting impact for overcoming real-world problems.\u202f In this paper we present how evidence caf\u00e9s (EC) (Clough & Adams, 2020<\/a>) produced engagement insights, challenges and impact opportunities.\u202f A series of decision makers \u2018Tyrannies\u2019 were identified\u202f (\u2018timeliness\u2019, \u2018accountability\u2019 and \u2018ownership\u2019). Using change models (\u202fKotter, 1996<\/a>;\u202fReed et al., 2018<\/a>), enablers (\u2018understanding\u2019, \u2018communities\u2019 and \u2018processes\u2019) were identified as impact mechanisms.<\/p>\n

LfWR<\/em>\u202f(Kent et al, 2025) supported locally-led youth interventions in areas of political violence and social marginalisation. In it\u2019s EC the\u202ftyranny of accountability<\/strong>\u202fwas found to\u202fskew policy narratives\u202fproducing familiar rationalities rather than addressing underlying drivers.\u202fA\u202ftyranny of timeliness <\/strong>also constrained interventions. The EC process helped crystallise policy messages that rather than containment or criminalisation, impact and\u202fmeaningful change<\/em>\u202fcomes from re-framing youth violence as a social issue and legitimising youth and community agency in informing social policy responses benefitting all .<\/p>\n

The Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) project (with the Spinal Injuries Association, see\u202fSIA 2030 strategy<\/a>) developed a Theory of Change for UK-wide policy-engagement strategy. The\u202ftyranny of timeliness<\/strong>\u202femerged through health and social care systems\u2019 inability to deliver long-term coordination across life-course needs. Accountability<\/strong>\u202fwas diffused across services, diluting responsibility and delaying systemic reform. SCI lived experiences were tokenistic with a\u202ftyranny of ownership<\/strong>\u202f<\/strong>focused on people as service users rather than policy co-creators. The campaign is now shifting narratives by positioning lived experience as essential evidence for national strategy, opening new opportunities for policy innovation grounded in user-led insights.<\/p>\n

Organisations often fail to link policy solutions to realistic problem understanding or community realities. To achieve project impact, we need to overcome the three tyrannies with a sequenced progression through engagement enablers of \u2018engaged understanding\u2019 (evidence-based and relevant), \u2018engaged community\u2019 (lived with agency) and processes (realistic and effective) supporting creation of a joint vision.<\/p>\n

References:<\/strong>\u202f<\/strong><\/p>\n