SHARP’s Mission

The Sport, Health, and Activity Research and Policy Center (SHARP) researches and creates real world solutions to our most pressing questions in public health and health care, deploying gender as a critical lens. Using a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach that integrates motivational, organizational, cultural, and socio-political perspectives, SHARP studies the interconnections that influence health outcomes within families, schools, communities, and organizations. SHARP’s translational and applied research is informing new practices and policies related to health care, cultures of health, sport participation, and sustainable movement across the lifespan. SHARP is a center within the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Michigan, in frequent collaboration with the School of Kinesiology.

 

Research Priorities

• Identification of persuasive messaging strategies and other intervention components that promote sustainable health-related behaviors across contexts
• Marketing and branding strategies to motivate walking and daily movement to distinct demographic groups
• Motivation and behavioral interventions to improve health and well-being in organizations and communities
• Correlates of positive and negative health effects from sport participation
• Patient-centered methods that improve outcomes within health care