Making the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Accessible with Move Your Way® [Podcast Series]
[:55] Dr. Bantham introduces her guests, Malorie Polster and Katie Costello
Malorie Polster is Physical Activity Advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
Katie Costello is ORISE Health Communications Fellow at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
[1:18] Making the Physical Activity Guidelines accessible
“But the Physical Activity Guidelines is really a resource that's meant for health professionals and policymakers and educators. Not really the general public. So that is why we created the Move Your Way campaign.”
“So rather than portraying physical activity in that very vigorous way, or in very specific settings, in a gym, we try to use the campaign to highlight different forms of physical activity and emphasize that physical activity can be fun and social, and it can be personalized to fit into your everyday life.”
[7:20] Translating the evidence for different audiences
“And we know previous recommendations of 30 minutes five days a week, that really stuck with people and it's easier for people to conceptualize. But there's actually a huge challenge with promoting that scientifically, because then you're saying someone has to be active for at least 30 minutes for it to count. And we know that that's not true.”
[10:52] Determining what resonates with different audiences
“We've generally found that the main messages of Move Your Way, really promoting the social components of being active. People really do want to get active with their friends, with their family, they don't like to do it alone. And helping people find ways to be active that are really enjoyable or fit well into their lifestyles really do resonate across all of those audiences.”
[14:02] Positive framing to support consumer behavior change
“And we've done so much expansion of materials that we have been able over time to really reinforce some of those key messages that people do really react to positively across the board, like the messages that it all adds up and find what works for you.”
[17:18] Communities using the campaign to help community members move their way
“We know communities know their audiences best so we knew it was important to make sure Move Your Way materials could be adapted to fit a community's needs, resources and opportunities. So communities can tailor the materials to make sure they resonate with their audiences.”
“The flexibility and ability to customize materials, like swap out photos. We, of course, are trying to include so many diverse images in our materials, but like the example from Southern Nevada, we're not going to be able to hit every single community. So the fact that communities can swap them out on their own…”
[21:17] Community Playbook resources making an impact
“But I think how bringing together the partners in their community, through Move Your Way, they were able to leverage existing partners, and like re engage partners that they had lost, and also bring in new partners. So I think it was the ability to put everything together into one cohesive, unified package that really, that we heard from those pilots, really made an impact for them.”
[25:43] Making the Community Playbook even more actionable and accessible
“In 2028, and even before that, what we're really trying to do is make that playbook even more accessible, more easy to use, more actionable.”
“People see Move Your Way and they look at the materials and they say, this is the message that our health department is trying to get out there. This is the direction we want to go with our physical activity promotion, we align with this.”
