The Association between the Comprehensiveness and Strength of Written Physical Activity Wellness Policies and the Observed School Physical Activity Environment

Purpose: To determine if there is a relationship between physical education/activity wellness policy comprehensiveness and strength and the observed physical activity (PA) environment. Methods: The Wellness School Assessment Tool 2.0 (WellSAT 2.0) was used to evaluate the quality of written wellness policies. The School Physical Activity and Nutrition Environment Tool (SPAN-ET) was used to evaluate the school environment. Pairwise correlations and one-way ANOVAs were used to determine if written wellness policy quality affects the school PA environment. Data are presented as mean ± SD and significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: One significant relationship was found between WellSAT 2.0 PEPA comprehensiveness and SPAN-ET area of interest 7, which was Enclosures and Safety Features. There were no other relationships identified between the quality of wellness policies and the PA environments (n=3) and areas of interest (n=16). When comparing mean wellness policy scores among practice categories (poor, fair, good, and best practice) of the physical, situational, and policy environment, there was no difference.Conclusion: There may be a communication disconnect in school wellness efforts between the district and school level. Schools have strong environments, but these environmental strengths are not being captured in their wellness policies