Developing Health Promoting Sports Clubs Through Organisational Change
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University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection 2017+ University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2019 Developing Health Promoting Sports Clubs through Organisational Change Amy Carrad University of Wollongong Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses1 University of Wollongong Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorise you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this work may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author. Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. 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For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Developing Health Promoting Sports Clubs through Organisational Change Amy Carrad Bachelor of Public Health (Honours) Supervisors: Prof. Heather Yeatman & Dr. Anne-Maree Parrish This thesis is presented as part of the requirement for the conferral of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Wollongong This research has been conducted with the support of the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship The University of Wollongong Faculty of Social Sciences School of Health and Society March 2019 i ii Certification I, Amy Carrad, declare that this thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the conferral of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. This document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Miss Amy Carrad 25th March 2019 iii Abstract Sports clubs and organisations are settings being recently explored for their potential to create environments that promote health and wellbeing. This follows decades of health-related policy and practice implementation in settings such as schools, workplaces, towns and cities. The research presented in this thesis investigated the application of health promotion and organisational change principles to the culture and environments of gymnastics organisations at a local and state level within New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The research also explored facilitators for and barriers to health promoting gymnastics settings within participating organisations. The research comprised two phases. Formative research provided an understanding of the organisational, cultural and environmental contexts of the state sporting organisation for gymnastics in NSW (Gymnastics NSW) and a sample of clubs (n = 6) from one region of the state. Subsequent implementation and evaluation of the Health Promoting Gymnastics Clubs Program (an organisational change, capacity-building intervention) within Gymnastics NSW and gymnastics clubs (n = 5) informed the feasibility of creating health-promoting gymnastics organisations. The research utilised a mixed- methods, multiple-case study design to explore: the existing organisational environment and culture of gymnastics; the impact of organisational change strategies on environmental and cultural characteristics; and perceived facilitators and barriers to the organisational change process within participating settings. Data were collected through document and website analyses, individual interviews (formative: n = 19; post-intervention: n = 7), questionnaires and a focus group. The organisational structure of gymnastics in Australia is tiered in nature, from national through state to local level; however, the focus of this research was on the state and local levels. The roles of Gymnastics NSW (state level) included providing support to clubs to operate as successful businesses or entities and enabling participation in the sport. Gymnastics NSW’s health-related policies included those addressing workplace health and safety, sponsorship, access and equity, and child and member protection. The organisational contexts of participating clubs varied with respect to factors such as club venue, membership size, number of staff and organisational mission. Only one of the five intervention clubs was not-for-profit and comprised a majority volunteer staff; the other clubs were for-profit and staff were paid. Primarily, local clubs enabled participation in gymnastics, but study respondents also described roles and responsibilities regarding the social development of gymnasts and the community, member retention, business and competition. Only one of the participating clubs provided access to policy documents, some of which identified health-related issues such as healthy eating, injury prevention, emotional wellbeing and workplace health and safety. Pre-intervention health promotion practices within clubs pertained to healthy eating, mental wellbeing and social development. During the intervention phase, Gymnastics NSW made organisational adjustments to accommodate the Health Promoting Gymnastics Clubs Program, including incorporating the program into the portfolios of staff members and facilitating coach professional development workshops on the topics of healthy eating and mental wellbeing for athletes. Gymnastics NSW provided direct assistance to clubs participating in iv the research project in the forms of strategic and logistical support in the implementation of health promotion activities at the local level. All clubs participated in separate one-on-one meetings with a Gymnastics NSW representative or the researcher to discuss and create an action plan that would guide the activities implemented in each respective club. Following the meeting, clubs were able to request support from Gymnastics NSW in the form of further planning assistance and connection to public health program resources that would aid the implementation of their action plans. Implemented activities included supply of fresh fruit, removing unhealthy food rewards, conducting coach training to support gymnasts’ mental and social wellbeing, and displaying health promotion materials at the club and on social media. Survey responses from Gymnastics NSW staff (n = 2) indicated the project did not result in any substantial changes to their organisation’s culture. Similarly, there were no changes to their perceived self-efficacy for health promotion, with the exception of program sustainability, which was lower post- intervention. The participants perceived the logistic, workload and financial limitations were the most significant barriers to Gymnastics NSW’s participation in and continued implementation of the Health Promoting Gymnastics Clubs Program. The intervention had a positive impact on club representatives’ perceptions of their self-efficacy for health promotion and ability to sustain health promotion activities in their respective organisations. Clubs’ abilities to implement health promoting activities were influenced by organisational leadership, strategic, human and financial capacity, organisational priorities and timing, and elements of the program framework. The nature and extent to which these factors were influential varied in each club, indicating the importance of organisational context in determining program outcomes. The findings of this thesis demonstrate the feasibility of a gymnastics-based health promotion intervention, and thus support previous research that advocates the use of sports organisations as settings for health promotion. The study identified personal, organisational, programmatic and societal factors that facilitated or hindered the organisational change process, which should be considered by future research. To engender a cultural shift in sport such that it integrates health promotion within its core business, it will be important to take sustained action through participatory and whole-of-system approaches, draw on intersectoral partnerships and be responsive to the unique contexts of different sports organisations. v Acknowledgements My journey through this doctoral degree feels like quite a long one, and I am so incredibly appreciative of all the people who have proved crucial to both the production of this thesis and my personal development along the way. Firstly to my supervisors, Heather Yeatman and Anne-Maree Parrish, thank you for your endless guidance and input. Thanks also to Bridget Kelly who started out in my supervisory group, particularly for committing yourself to driving