16 Sep Evaluation of the Government indicator methodology in the Global Matrix on physical activity for children and adolescents

Posted at 12:22h in Publications, Research by
0 Likes

Government policies and strategies are an important source of influence on physical activity among children and adolescents. Within the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (AHKGA) Global Matrix, the Government indicator assesses government action to support physical activity through policies, strategies, legislation, funding, and implementation efforts. A new paper by Demchenko et al., published in the Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness, evaluates the Welsh approach, an alternative method for grading the Government indicator, and compares it with the original method used in earlier Global Matrix editions.

The Welsh approach was developed using criteria informed by the World Health Organization’s Health-Enhancing Physical Activity Policy Audit Tool. It provides an  assessment based on six areas, including number and breadth of relevant policies, supporting actions, accountable organizations, reporting structures, funding, and monitoring and evaluation.

Key findings included:

  • The Welsh approach received predominantly positive feedback, with users highlighting its structure, transparency, and comprehensiveness.
  • The approach provided a more systematic assessment of government action through predefined criteria and a scoring rubric.
  • Important considerations remained, particularly around policy implementation and effectiveness. Respondents also identified workload and complexity as challenges.
  • No statistically significant group-level differences in Government indicator grades were found between Global Matrix 3.0 and 4.0, regardless of the assessment method used.

The findings support the Welsh approach as progress toward a more structured and transparent assessment of the Government indicator. Future Global Matrix editions would benefit from further refinement to the Government indicator methodology, particularly to strengthen consideration of policy implementation and to improve consistency and comparability across countries and jurisdictions. Both the original and Welsh approaches remain appropriate for interim use within the Global Matrix.

Reference

Demchenko I, Aubert S, Kuzik N, Edwards LC, Ward M, Arbour-Nicitopoulos KP, Brazo-Sayavera J, Cortinez-O’Ryan A, De Roia G, Gonzàlez SA, Guisihan RM, Jeon JY, Kim YS, Poh BK, Slančová TK, López-Gil JF, Ng K, Palad Y, Silva DAS, Tomaz SA, Ubrański PK, Tremblay MS. Evaluation of the Government indicator methodology in the Global Matrix on physical activity for children and adolescents. Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness. 2026.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesf.2026.200520