La actividad física en los planes de salud autonómicos de España. Una revisión de propuestas

Objective

To identify if the regional government health plans in Spain include specific objectives and measures related to physical activity.

Method

Institutional websites were scanned to identify the most recent health plan of each regional government. The information included in the health plans on objectives and measures and the population groups targeted by these measures was extracted. The search was completed on 24 January 2022.

Results

Sixteen health plans were identified of which six are in force in 2022; 15 of these have incorporated specific objectives and measures on physical activity. Most of the actions are focus on general population, children-adolescents and elderly population. The plans of Cantabria, the Comunitat Valenciana and País Vasco cover physical activity more widely, proposing measures for seven of the eight identified population groups.

Conclusions

Most of the health plans include measures related to physical activity and target two or more population groups. The objectives, specific measures and population groups were highly heterogeneous. This study could serve to prompt regional governments to review their health plans, update them and improve them in terms of physical activity. It seems advisable that the different health plans should have a homogeneous framework of proposals related to the promotion of physical activity.