Public Sports Policies: A Tool for Characterization of Municipal Sports Services in Mozambique

Abstract

Over the past 40 years, the municipalities have been the main promoters of sport development in several parts of the world. They were also crucial in the definition of sport policies with actions focused on the promotion of healthy lifestyles through physical activity and sport practice for all sectors of society. Nevertheless, in the municipalities of Mozambique, the intervention in sport is a relatively new activity. Research in these fields is very rare, so it is urgent to proceed with disaggregated studies on sport reality in municipalities of Mozambique. The aim of this study was to design and validate a specific tool for characterization of municipal sports services. For this purpose, an ad hoc instrument based on a previous literature review was designed and submitted to validation process by academic experts. After the instrument obtained a positive evaluation, a pilot study was conducted. Forty-one items, divided into= nine dimensions, compose the final version. The instrument showed a good validity indices (V of Aiken = 0.85), and reliability (W of Kendall = 0.82). The tool will help and guide policy makers for best practices in sport programs in their municipalities, since it provides feedback about the overall development of sport services and identifies which resources they have and which are needed in each municipality to ensure that all activities can successfully deliver and respond to the demands of the citizens. The finaltool was named Fer Cas DemuP.