Process evaluation of European 'Healthy Stadia' program

Healthy Stadia (HS) is a European public health pilot-program started in 2007 to support sports stadia in promoting the health of people who work and visit sports stadia, as well as inhabitants of the surrounding communities. The aim of this study is to describe the process evaluation of the program, from its beginning in July 2007 to December 2009, in order to assess the feasibility and sustainability of an HS network across Europe. The program involved nine associate partners involved in the coordination of activities at a local level, in the recruitment of stadia, in the development of specific program tasks and in the dissemination of the program at a national level. The activities of associate partners were evaluated through structured questionnaires administered every 6 months. The questionnaire response rate from associate partners was 77.8% for the first and third evaluations and 88.9% for the second and fourth evaluations. According to the evaluation's results, several good practices such as alcohol prevention policies and those supporting people with disabilities were implemented in stadia over the course of the program. Conversely, practices supporting mental health and green transport were generally not achieved. The implemented activities mainly involved staff and visitors. Lack of human and economic resources, especially toward the end of the program, was considered the principal challenge for program development. In conclusion, the process evaluation presented the feasibility of the HS program and the development of health promoting practices in sport stadia over time.