Capital4Health – Research Network

The research consortium Capital4Health aims towards „Capabilities for an active lifestyle: a research network for interactive knowledge-to-action within health promotion“.

The research network is funded by the Health Research Programme of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

The network aims to develop and research capabilities for active lifestyles among different population groups and among professional target groups, as well as the structural capacities at the organizational and system level through an interactive knowledge-to-action approach. Further the aim is the sustainable implementation of physical activity by reaching people in their living, educational and working environments.

The network consists of research institutions (university and non-university) as well as policy- and practice-partners. Four empirical projects, located in Bavaria, develop, implement, and evaluate interventions to promote physical activity using a international network.

The empirical projects target on groups over the entire life span by also addressing different professional actors and structural capacities in the following settings:

• The QueB project is working within the setting of kindergartens,
• Health.EduPlus within the setting of schools and school-teacher-education
• PArC-AVE within vocational training of car mechatronics and nursing schools and
• ACTION for men on the community-level.

The PATEN project, which has been part of the first funding phase had been working with the senior resident homes, but merged with the project ACTION for men for the second phase to work closely on the capabilities for an active lifestyle for Men 50+.

Two cross-sectional projects aim to contribute to the development of theory, methods and evaluation of approaches in the areas of capabilities for action for active lifestyles and interactive knowledge exchange. Further they provide assistance in the scaling-up process of the empirical projects.

CAPCOM, cross-sectional project

The central aim of the cross-cutting project CAPCOM (short for “Capabilities and interactive knowledge-to-action: Concepts and Methods) is to strengthen the theoretical and methodological basis of the four empirical projects. It is part of the „Physical Activity and Public Health“ Division.

CAPCOM focusses on the theoretical underpinning and (further) development of:

• the connection between behavioural- and situational prevention (capabilities)
• the approach of interactive knowledge-to-action (IK2A) and
• transdisciplinary work.

CAPCOM relies on a recursive process of development, conceptualisation, implementation and evaluation. The four empirical projects of the research consortium form the fields of intervention.

Handing over the approval decision on 28 April 2015:

Erlangen: FAU’s sports scientists receive 1.2 million euros in funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research for projects designed to get the population moving. Photo: Prof. Alfred Rütten, Parliamentary State Secretary Stefan Müller, FAU Vice President Günter Leugering. 28 April 2015. Photo: Harald Sippel

Brief summary

• Consortiums coordinator: Dr. Klaus Pfeifer
• Principle-Investigator of the CAPCOM cross-cutting project: PH Dr. Karim Abu-Omar
• Research coordinator of the consorium: Peter Gelius
• Scientific staff CAPCOM: Susanne Ferschl , Maike Till, Raluca Sommer (maternity leave)
• Scientific partners: University of Augsburg, University of Bayreuth, Coburg University of Applied Sciences, University of Regensburg, Ludwig Maximilian University Munich
• International project partners: University of Bern/CH, La Trobe University/Australien, Maastricht University/Netherlands, University of Montreal/Canada, Stanford University/USA, University of York/UK, University of Newcastle/UK
• Funding period: Funding periode: 02/2015-03/2018
  2. Funding periode: 04/2018-03/2021
• Sponsor: Federal Ministry of Education and Research, represented by the project management agency dlr (FKZ 01EL1421A/01EL1821A)
• Webpage: capital4health.de