Scoping review to assess the reach, effectiveness, and impact of government-funded and population-based physical activity initiatives in Australian adults

Charuni Hansika Bambaradeniya Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage^1*Stephanie Erin Chappel²Sidney Irwin¹Gabrielle Fisher³Alyson J Crozier⁴Corneel Vandelanotte¹

• ¹Appleton Institute, Central Queensland University, Wayville, Australia
• ²Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia
• ³Preventive Health SA, Adelaide, Australia
• ⁴University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

In Australia, physical activity initiatives are often implemented by state and federal governments to improve population physical activity levels. Given the complexity and variability of government-funded physical activity programs, a scoping review is needed to synthesise the available evidence to identify the gaps in initiatives. The aim of this review is to explore the reach, effectiveness, and impact of government-funded population-based physical activity initiatives in Australian adults through a scoping review. This scoping review followed the PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE, and ProQuest Public Health were searched from January 2000 to April 2024. Search terms included relevant terms surrounding the main topics of 'physical activity', 'intervention', 'population-based', 'government-funded', and 'Australia'. Grey literature sources collected from websites of relevant organisations, health agencies of Australian states and territories, and other government departments. A manual search of references listed in primary sources was conducted to find journal articles missed by the search. A narrative synthesis of included studies was conducted. In total, 6,127 sources were identified, with 71 sources included in the final review. The peer review studies, and grey literature evaluation reports identified physical activity initiatives across all Australian states and at the national level. However, Queensland and Victoria provided more physical activity interventions, strategies, and action plans compared to other states. The most common intervention strategies employed were digital platforms and a combination of multiple strategies. Most of these initiatives increased physical activity, however the overall reach of initiatives to the broader Australian population was limited. The initiatives had positive impacts on individuals' health (e.g., weight, mitigating chronic diseases) and wellbeing (e.g., developing social connections). Although these initiatives have demonstrated improvements in physical activity and community health and wellbeing, they have only reached a small fraction of the Australian population. This review highlights need for National Physical Activity Plan. While many states have published high-quality strategies and actions, there is a pressing need for actual implementation of initiatives and evaluations to assess effectiveness. Future research should focus on standardising evaluation frameworks and exploring strategies to enhance initiative sustainability and effectiveness, particularly in diverse populations.