ACTION for Men: Study Protocol of a Community Capacity Building Intervention to Develop and Implement...

Area of Science:

• Community Health
• Health Promotion
• Public Health

Background:

• Sustainable health promotion in communities requires robust capacity building.
• Evidence-based recommendations for implementing and evaluating community capacity building are limited.
• The ACTION for men (A4M) project addresses this gap by focusing on capacity building for health promotion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To build and evaluate community capacities for health promotion using a participatory approach.
• To specifically improve physical activity (PA) in men over 50 years of age (50 plus).
• To provide evidence on implementing and evaluating capacity building processes for health promotion.

Main Methods:

• Establishment and facilitation of stakeholder groups in rural communities over 1-3 years.
• Systematic facilitation addressing key domains of community capacity (critical awareness, resource mobilization, etc.).
• Mixed-methods evaluation including documentations, interviews, and pre-post questionnaires to assess changes in PA.

Main Results:

• Stakeholder groups were formed and facilitated in two communities, with a third to follow.
• The facilitation process is designed to encourage active participation in planning and implementing PA programs.
• Evaluation instruments are in place to measure capacity building and changes in physical activity.

Conclusions:

• A4M prioritizes building community capacity as a primary aim, differentiating it from prior research.
• The project is expected to yield significant findings on the implementation and evaluation of capacity building for health promotion.
• It will offer insights into effectively promoting physical activity among older men in community settings.