Connecting care, sport and physical activity

Introduction: Care Sport Connectors (CSCs) have been appointed to create a connection between the primary care and physical activity (PA) sectors to stimulate inactive residents becoming physically active to gain health benefits. The objective of this explorative study is to find out whether CSCs achieve these goals.Method: We conducted a longitudinal study design whereby participants were measured at three time points: at the start of their PA program (T0); after 6 months (T1); and after 1 year (T2). Participants conducted a fitness test to measure their health-related physical fitness and filled in questionnaires to assess PA level, health-related quality of life, motivation, and personal information. We used a multi-level analysis to test whether outcomes of participants differ over time. Drop-outs and maintainers were compared with a chi-square test and a one-way ANOVA.Results: This study showed that approximately one-third of the participants dropped out. Participants who dropped out were, compared with maintainers, less physically active (P=0.004) and were more often reached in bigger municipalities, by an integral approach. Compared with at T0, at T2 more participants meet the PA guideline (P=0.008) and sport norm (P<0.001). Scores in health-related physical fitness and quality of life were significant but not a meaningful gain in health-related fitness.Conclusion: PA programs and activities organized by CSCs increase participation in sports and results in more residents who are physically active. Lifestyle interventions should be offered with a higher frequency, intensity, and focus on behavior change. Therefore, it is necessary to invest in combined lifestyle interventions offered by a collaboration of primary care, welfare, and PA professionals.