The INTERACT+ Project and my impact as a PESS Research Intern – Nathan Bolger.

The PESS Internship is an opportunity for UL students to spend up to eight weeks in the Physical Education and Sports Science Department gaining experience in one of a number of research areas.

The internship which I completed over the previous number of months in PESS was a continuation of the work started during my final year project, a literature review for the INTERACT+ Project (International and European Sport Organisations Activating Citizens Plus), a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. This project aims to enhance the tools and resources built by its predecessor project, INTERACT, to complement ISO (International Sport Organisations) activities and support them in developing Sport for All.  The INTERACT+ project brings together a number of partners including TAFISA (The Association For International Sport For All), IDO (International Dance Organization), European Flying Disc Federation, World Minigolf Federation, FISU (International University Sports Federation) and more.

 My contribution throughout the internship was in a number of areas:

1.      Expand, update and prepare for publishing the article which had been started during my final year and which was part of the deliverables expected within the INTERACT+ project. The title of the publication produced for my final year project was “Benefits and Return on Investment in Sport-For-All: An Umbrella Review”.

2.      Review and contribute to a research article titled “How do sports federation invest social and health issue: a systematic literature review” which involved research into the barriers and leverages to sport participation.

3.      Create a theory of action for “sport for all” implementation among national sports federations, a deliverable which included work on developing a logic model for visually displaying the theory of action. A part of this also involved assisting in writing a research article based on the work done in developing the theory of action.

4.      Attend regular workshops and meetings to keep project partners updated and to offer input and advice based on the literature.

While I had already started work for this project during my final year of my undergraduate degree, the transition from what felt like relatively isolated college work, to being a main contributor to a large project and working closely with many individuals at the top of their respective organizations and fields, was perhaps the most interesting for me. I enjoyed the responsibility and the trust placed in me by my supervisors, Dr. Aurelie Van Hoye and Dr. Catherine Woods, from the very start, and spent plenty of time reading all the necessary literature to allow for a more effective contribution to the team.

Article on Benefits of Sport

An umbrella review was conducted, and 34 studies published between 2018 and 2023, involving a total of over 1 million participants, were identified which matched the inclusion criteria set forward. These papers contained findings on a variety of benefits, grouped into four major themes: (1). Social benefits (Relationship formation, social skill development, social interaction etc), (2). Mental benefits (Improved psychological health, increased perceived quality of life, increased motivation etc), (3). Physical benefits (Improved fitness/diet, increased bone health, improved immune system etc), (4). Other benefits (Encouraging diversity, creating volunteer opportunities, decreased smartphone addiction etc). The paper was renamed to “Health and Social benefits of organized sport participations: A review of review” and expanded with extra work such as a quality assessment, greater detail in the reporting of the results and more relevant references. While not yet published, it is hoped to be seen someday in a journal such as the Journal of Physical Activity and Health

Article on Barriers and Leverages to Sport Participation

A systematic literature search was conducted, with 1203 articles retrieved from databases and 31 studies were included, representing 4,460 participants. There were a number of key themes identified through the analysis of the barriers and leverages, and these were categorized according to the setting of target group, intervention, implementers, organization, and environment.

Creation of a Theory of Action and Research Article

The creation of a theory of action included 4 workshops spread out over a number of months, 2 interviews which helped to influence the items included in the logic model produced, 2 interviews which will help with evaluation and a questionnaire which was sent out and helped to make the workshops more efficient and gather any extra input between workshops. After each workshop, everything discussed was analyzed and added to a logic model which was developed over time. The final workshop was held at the TAFISA World Congress for sport-for-all in Dusseldorf in November, where all project partners confirmed that they are happy with the proposed logic model and underlying theory of action.

As part of this, a 10-page report on the creation of the theory of action, along with a separate research article, were both produced. The article was titled “Creation of the International and European Sport Organisations Activating Citizens theory of change”. This involved highlighting the creation of the theory of action through a scientific perspective, with results on the workshops, interviews and questionnaire all recorded.

Workshops and Meetings

There were a number of workshops and meetings which I attended. Some of these required a presentation to be made beforehand, allowing me to work on my powerpoint skills, and others required just a brief update on my part but were also just as important. I also observed a number of “train-the-trainer” workshops and “Capacity building” workshops and took notes, both for personal development and for the project.

Overall, the four years spent studying sports and exercise science was very enjoyable and I believe that the PESS internship was a perfect first step afterwards. It has helped me to become more driven than ever in the pursuit of further studies. The amount of opportunities presented during the internship really opened my eyes to the things you can achieve when you really put your mind to it and work hard, and I am finishing the internship with great optimism for the future.