Health promotion orientation of GAA sports clubs in Ireland

Abstract

In Ireland, a GAA sports club exists in almost every community. The purpose of this analysis is to present the health promotion orientation of clubs who have been recruited to a project run in partnership with the GAA and the Irish Department of Health. Clubs completed a questionnaire and took part in a focus group to explore why they were willing to take part in this initiative. Clubs viewed health promotion as a natural progression of their existing work. They scored low in relation to policy and coaching activities specific to health promotion, and higher for their ideology and environmental considerations. GAA sports clubs are already engaging in some health-related activities and are eager to engage further. Clubs require support to ensure health promotion is embedded into their core business.