#projectguia

Project GUIA (Guide for Useful Interventions for Physical Activity in Brazil & Latin America) was officially formed in October of 2005 as an international partnership to examine and promote evidence-based strategies that increase physical activity in Latin America. The productivity, reach, and impact that the project achieved was far from the imagination of the researchers and students when they first embarked on this effort.  As a cross national and transdisciplinary collaboration funded as a Special Interest Project (SIP) through CDC, GUIA has built bridges between U.S. and Latin American researchers, students, faculty and staff in the area of physical activity promotion. Partners include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Prevention Research Center in St. Louis, the Pan American Health Organization, and recognized universities such as Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil and University of los Andes in Bogota Colombia.

One of the most valuable and rewarding activities of project GUIA are the students and faculty exchanges, where masters, doctoral and post doctoral students get the chance to travel to Brazil, Colombia and the United States and engage in research and practice based activities of the project. Since 2007 the project has conducted a total of 14 internships, thus creating a significant and rewarding professional and personal experience for the students, which in their own words will be difficult to top. 

Project GUIA has evaluated several community based physical activity programs in Brazil (Academia da Cidade and CuritibaAtiva) and Colombia (Recreovia), thus helping to fill the gap and acquire much needed evidence around the topic. One of the most clear and objective signs of productivity and dedication of the project’s team is the large number of publications in international high impact journals including Social Science & Medicine, Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, American Journal of Public Health, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and Preventive Medicine. To date the project has published 31 publications with at least ten more in the pipeline; to put this in perspective, the average number of publications for SIPs funded by CDC is one.

GUIA continues to carry out active dissemination of research products through the development of policy briefs for policy makers, and press releases for the media. Project GUIA has completed two systematic reviews of the literature around physical activity promotion in Latin America; the first one focusing on internal validity and the second including both internal and external validity.

Visit our website at www.projectguia.com

Alicia Manteiga was an intern with Project GUIA June and July, 2013. During that time, she lived in Pelotas, Brazil, and was affiliated with the Federal University of Pelotas’s Center of Epidemiologic Research.

The most significant experience she had during her internship was the opportunity to interview key partners from the project’s history. This allowed an in-depth, comprehensive view into the development, success, and maintenance of this multi-national collaborative network.

Lauren Walker was a Project GUIA intern based in the Epidemiology Research Center at the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPEL), Brazil from June-August, 2013.

She was responsible for conducting qualitative interviews with Project GUIA collaborators in order to publish an in-depth history of the project, and collaborated with Dr. Franklin Barcellos on a publication that examines the relationship between physical activity and kidney function. Lauren considers both experiences to be the most significant things she completed during her time as an intern.

"Working with GUIA was a very fulfilling experience, albeit short. The

opportunity I had to meet and speak with most of the GUIA partners taught me about the benefits of a strong, international network."