PAfH attends the ISPAH 2026 Congress in Mérida, Mexico
The IMPAQT consortium travelled to Mérida, Mexico, for the 11th International Society for Physical Activity and Health (ISPAH) Congress, held from the 5th to the 8th of October and the first ISPAH Congress to take place in a Spanish-speaking country. Across two days, IMPAQT researchers presented two papers in a symposium on governance and policy for active societies, delivered a keynote address on physical activity policy research, and presented a poster tracking change in physical activity policy implementation in Ireland.
Tuesday, 6th of October
IMPAQT contributed two presentations to the symposium Governance, policy, and systems innovation for active societies, chaired by IMPAQT Scientific Advisory Board member Professor Adrian Bauman. Kevin Volf presented both on behalf of IMPAQT colleagues who were unable to attend.
The first, Using IMPAQT’s list of Best Practice Exemplars to benchmark implementation of public physical activity policies, was submitted by Enrique García Bengoechea. It described how the consortium sourced, standardised and appraised candidate policies to build a repository of best practice exemplars against which countries can benchmark their implementation of the PA-EPI indicators. Of 131 candidates, 79 were included, representing 25 countries across five continents, with exemplars hardest to find in the Governance, Workforce Development and Health in All Policies domains.
The second, Building blocks of equity in physical activity policy: Learnings from six EU member states, was submitted by Sven Messing. Drawing on a systematic review, desk research and a consortium workshop, it set out eight overarching recommendations for addressing equity in physical activity policy, from political commitment to equity through to monitoring and accountability. It also identified examples of good practice across the six countries, including Lithuania’s Sports Support Fund, which reserves at least 10% of its budget for children with disabilities, and Ireland’s National Physical Activity Framework, which explicitly aims to leave no one, and no setting, behind.
Wednesday, 7th of October
IMPAQT Coordinator Professor Catherine Woods opened the third day of the Congress with her keynote address Physical Activity Policy Research: A love/hate relationship. She introduced delegates to the Irish physical activity research context, the University of Limerick and the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, and traced the slow process of getting physical activity onto Ireland’s policy agenda and implemented, framing it through her own children growing from childhood into adolescence. Drawing on IMPAQT’s PA-EPI policy research, she reflected on the role of the research community in meeting the challenges that policy intervention presents.
Directly after the keynote, Kevin Volf presented the poster Monitoring Progress in Physical Activity Policy Implementation in Ireland: A Follow-up PA-EPI Study, co-authored with Enrique García Bengoechea and Catherine Woods. The study repeated Ireland’s 2022 PA-EPI assessment: 15 policymakers contributed 95 comments to an updated national Evidence Document, and 31 independent experts then rated implementation of the 45 PA-EPI indicators. Implementation had improved for 16 indicators, declined for one and remained unchanged for 28, showing substantial progress since 2022 alongside persistent gaps.
Looking Ahead
ISPAH 2026 gave IMPAQT a global platform to share its European physical activity policy research, and the Congress theme, Going global for local impact: Towards a comprehensive equity approach to physical activity and health, aligned closely with the project’s focus on improving physical activity policies and their impact on health equity. IMPAQT will continue its dissemination efforts with national and international physical activity policymakers.
Gracias, ISPAH y México.
