The Community Guide in Action

The GUIA Project: Assessment of Physical Activity Interventions in Latin America

The GUIA project, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Prevention Research Centers (PRC) Program, was initiated by the Saint Louis University PRC in 2006. The goal of the project is to assess whether the evidence-based recommendations developed by the Community Preventive Services Task Force in the United States are applicable to Latin American countries.

The Assessment

The assessment includes:

• Developing cross-cultural, collaborative relationships with physical activity researchers and practitioners in Latin America
• Synthesizing the results of a literature review (in Portuguese, Spanish, and English) on community-based strategies to promote physical activity in Latin America
• Conducting formative research to understand the relevance and acceptability of the Community Guide in Latin America
• Evaluating demonstration projects in Brazil
• Developing a plan for dissemination of the evidence-based interventions

Results to Date

The first phase of the study, a systematic review of Latin American literature on physical activity interventions and evaluation of Community Guide applicability, has been completed. Seventeen of 3500 relevant articles met the review criteria. Consistent with the Community Guide, GUIA researchers found statistically significant evidence that school-based physical education is effective in increasing physical activity among children.

They also found three new intervention categories not in the Community Guide:

• Physical activity classes in common settings, e.g., workplace, universities
• Delivery of short physical activity-related messages, e.g., to patients in doctor offices
• Community-wide policy and planning, e.g., Vida Chile, a national health promotion policy that includes building community walking trails; local policy in Colombia for a Ciclovia Recreovia that promotes use of public spaces by closing streets to vehicle traffic for several hours on Sundays and holidays to encourage walking

The GUIA project’s second phase, an evaluation of two ongoing community-based physical activity interventions in Brazil, is in progress.