[Maisons sportsanté to promote physical activity]

MAISONS SPORT-SANTÉ TO PROMOTE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. Maisons sport-santé are an organizational innovation proposed by the government in 2019. Responding to the concept of a "one-stop shop", these 500 or so structures with no legal status of their own have a highly variable composition, ranging from sports associations to health services, local authorities and private companies, or even digital platforms. Their vocation is to help any citizen who feels the need to be supported in taking charge through physical activity, whether for primary, secondary or tertiary prevention of chronic diseases, or because of a loss of autonomy, with or without a medical prescription. Welcomed and supervised by an adapted physical activity or sport-health professional, users are given a fitness and motivational assessment, before being referred to a structure offering physical activity (sports club, gym, individual coach). If necessary, they are offered "bridge" sessions for initial reconditioning. The cost of this program is still largely borne by the participants themselves, as the financing of the maisons sport-santé relies largely on public subsidies, which are still insufficient to ensure their sustainability. French health insurance coverage of physical activity programs on medical prescription could considerably help the operation of maisons sport-santé, but this, hoped for by 2024, is no longer envisaged for the time being. These funding difficulties threaten the survival of a highly promising concept.