Journal of Foresight and Health Governance

A Psychological Model of Self-Reported Physical Health in Insufficiently Active Adults: The Roles of Mindfulness, Body Image, and Perceived Social Acceptance

Ezzatolah Kordmirza Nikoozadeh iD , Mojgan Agahheris iD , Afagh Saleh ^* iD , Maryam Abdolkarimy Nazary iD

This study aims to test a cross-sectional structural model linking mindfulness and perceived social acceptance with self-reported physical health, directly and indirectly through body image, among insufficiently active adults. This descriptive-correlational study included 400 adults aged 18–59 years in Tehran, Iran, recruited through multistage cluster sampling in 2026. Insufficient physical activity was defined as <600 MET-min/week on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire–Short Form. Mindfulness, body image, perceived social acceptance, and self-reported physical health were assessed using questionnaires. The hypothesized pathways were tested using structural equation modeling in SPSS and AMOS; indirect effects were evaluated with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Body image was the strongest direct correlate of physical health (β = .43). Mindfulness and perceived social acceptance were positively associated with body image (β = .39 and β = .32, respectively), and both had smaller direct associations with physical health (β = .18 and β = .13). The standardized indirect effects through body image were .168 (95% CI [.120, .224]) for mindfulness and .138 (95% CI [.094, .188]) for social acceptance. The model accounted for 34% of the variance in body image and 48% of the variance in physical health and showed acceptable fit (χ²/df = 2.18, CFI = .941, TLI = .933, RMSEA = .055, SRMR = .052). In this cross-sectional sample, mindfulness and perceived social acceptance were associated with better self-reported physical health partly through more favorable body image. Longitudinal research using objective health and activity measures is required before causal or intervention claims can be made.

Modeling the Pragmatic Legitimacy of Public Organizations Based on Good Governance Principles

Marjan Lashkari iD , Ali Reza Modanlo Joibari ^* , Changiz Mohammadizadeh iD

As public expectations become more complex and scrutiny of public-sector performance intensifies, organizational legitimacy and good governance have become central concerns for managers and policymakers. Inefficiency, limited transparency, internal resistance, and political pressure can weaken the legitimacy of public organizations and erode public trust. This study develops a context-sensitive model of pragmatic legitimacy for Iranian public organizations based on good-governance principles. An applied qualitative design using grounded theory was adopted. Fourteen academic and executive experts in public administration, public policy, and governance were selected through purposive sampling supported by snowball referrals, with recruitment continuing until theoretical saturation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed through open, axial, and selective coding. Initial coding produced 362 preliminary labels; after comparison, removal of duplication, and conceptual consolidation, 336 retained open-code statements were organized into six axial categories and 18 selective themes. The model identifies sociocultural, governance-administrative, and international-technological drivers; structural reform, transparency, accountability, anti-corruption, and public-participation strategies; cultural-social, structural-institutional, and legal-regulatory contextual conditions; external intervention, intra-organizational resistance, and systemic inefficiency as intervening conditions; and transparency, citizenship rights, efficiency, and organizational development as the core phenomenon. Expected outcomes include stronger legitimacy and public trust, greater transparency and accountability, lower corruption, improved efficiency, and higher service quality. The findings show that pragmatic legitimacy is not a single organizational attribute but a dynamic outcome of alignment among institutional conditions, stakeholder expectations, administrative capabilities, and credible governance practices.

Developing a Model for a Chivalrous Lifestyle with Emphasis on School Sports

Najmeh Torabi Ghahfarokhi ^* iD , Ahmadreza Askari iD , Shahram Aroufzad iD

This study aimed to develop a model for promoting and institutionalizing a chivalrous lifestyle with emphasis on school sports. A qualitative grounded-theory design based on the systematic approach of Strauss and Corbin was used. The participants comprised Farhangian University faculty members and sport specialists in Isfahan who were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling. Data were generated through exploratory semi-structured interviews, complemented by a structured review of relevant scholarly and documentary sources. Data analysis proceeded through open, axial, and selective coding. The findings identified the institutionalization of a chivalrous lifestyle in school sports as the core phenomenon. The model included causal conditions, notably teacher competence, students' individual readiness, family support, and educational governance; contextual factors; intervening factors; strategies including cultural institutionalization, strategic planning, infrastructure development, and support and facilitation; and consequences including development of chivalrous sport, comprehensive health promotion, holistic growth and development, increased commitment and responsibility, and development of cultural and social capital. The expert-derived model suggests that educational policymaking, cultural development, and coordinated participation by families, schools, and relevant institutions may be important for developing and sustaining chivalrous values in students' lifestyles.

From Individual Agency to Structural Empowerment: A Grounded Theory Model of Women’s Leadership Transformation in Sport Organizations

Afsaneh Honarmandnia iD , Mehdi Naderi Nasab ^* iD , Vahid Moghaddam iD , Mostafa Soltani iD

Women remain underrepresented in senior leadership across many sport organizations despite sustained attention to gender equity. Research has often treated this problem either as a deficit in women’s preparation for leadership or as a consequence of organizational barriers. The present study develops a process-oriented explanation that connects individual agency with the organizational and institutional conditions required for structural empowerment. This article reports a focused analysis of the qualitative phase of a larger doctoral study on women’s leadership transformation in Iranian sport organizations. Twenty-four semi-structured interviews with women holding managerial or executive experience in sport and experts in sport management were analyzed using a Glaserian grounded theory approach based on constant comparison, open coding, selective coding, and theoretical coding. The full study produced 133 refined initial codes, 43 subcategories, 15 main categories, and five overarching dimensions. For the present article, the results were organized around the transition-oriented categories that explain how women move from constrained participation toward effective and sustainable leadership: individual agency, competence development, support and networking, inclusive climate, structural empowerment, institutional accountability, transformation strategies, and transformation outcomes. The findings show that agency and competence are necessary but insufficient. Their effects depend on access to professional networks, senior support, psychological safety, information, resources, decision authority, transparent rules, and monitoring. Structural empowerment emerged as the critical bridge between holding a managerial title and exercising real leadership. Sustainable transformation was associated with coordinated structural redesign, cultural change, and coalition building, producing individual, organizational, and institutional outcomes. The model shifts attention from “fixing women” to aligning individual capability with organizational power structures and accountability mechanisms. It offers an empirically grounded framework for sport organizations seeking to convert women’s presence in leadership into durable influence and institutionalized gender equity.

An Expert-Informed Grounded Theory of Health-Oriented Participatory Sports Competitions in Iran: From Episodic Competition to Sustainable Health-Promoting Participation

Mohammad Amin Shahidi Bonjar , Zahra Nobakht Ramezani ^* iD , Mehdi Naderi Nasab iD , Seyed Abbas Biniaz iD , Arefeh Jamshidi iD

Participatory sport events can provide an accessible entry point to physical activity, social connection, and health promotion; however, one-off competitions do not necessarily generate sustained participation. This qualitative study aimed to develop an expert-informed grounded theory explaining how health-oriented participatory sports competitions in Iran may be organized to support sustained, health-promoting participation. Classical grounded theory with Glaser’s emergent approach was used. Fifteen experts in sport management, sport-for-all, public health, physical activity, and participatory sport-event organization were selected through purposive and theoretical sampling. In-depth semi-structured interviews continued until theoretical saturation. Interviews were audio-recorded with participants’ agreement, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed through constant comparison, open coding, selective coding, theoretical coding, and memo writing. Analysis generated 106 initial codes, 41 subcategories, and 13 main categories organized into four overarching dimensions: (1) institutional and strategic requirements; (2) participation and health architecture; (3) assurance of responsible implementation; and (4) learning and health legacy. The core category was “transforming episodic competition into sustainable health-promoting participation.” The emergent model suggests that intersectoral governance and evidence-based planning provide the conditions for inclusive and health-centered design; responsible implementation supports safety, service quality, communication, and sustainability; and post-event monitoring creates a feedback mechanism through which anticipated physical, psychological, social, behavioral, and organizational legacies may be strengthened. The findings conceptualize these competitions as recurring, learning-oriented components of a broader participation system rather than isolated events. The model provides a context-sensitive framework for sport and public-health policymakers, municipalities, sport federations, and event organizers seeking to connect event participation with longer-term opportunities for physical activity.

A Thematic Model of Effective Coaching Skills Training for Sports Coaches in Tehran Province: A Qualitative Study

Hoora Heybatzadeh iD , Mahdi Naderi Nasab ^* iD , Seyyed Abbas Biniaz iD

Coach education is often treated mainly as technical instruction, although coaches also require communication, leadership, emotional self-regulation, reflective learning, ethical judgment, and contextual awareness. This qualitative study developed a thematic model of effective coaching skills training for sports coaches in Tehran Province. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants, including active coaches, sport education and sport management specialists, and academic experts in coach development. Participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling until data adequacy was judged to have been reached. Data were analysed using a codebook-oriented thematic analysis informed by Braun and Clarke's six-phase procedure. The analysis generated eight themes: specialist and scientific coaching knowledge, communication and interpersonal skills, leadership and team-management competencies, emotional intelligence and self-regulation, experiential learning and reflection, career-path management and professional development, technology and innovative educational approaches, and contextual, cultural, and organizational factors. The model should be interpreted as a conceptual organization of interview-derived themes rather than as a tested causal model. The findings suggest that coach education in this context should move beyond short technical courses and include structured, continuous, reflective, ethically informed, and context-sensitive professional development. Potential implications for athlete-supportive practice and sport governance are discussed cautiously because athlete outcomes and governance effectiveness were not directly measured.

Digital Mental Health: Definitions, Concepts and Dimensions– A Scoping Review

Fatemeh Bagheri Hoseinabadi iD , Reza Fallahchai ^* iD , Keyvan Salehi iD , Abdolvahab Samavi iD

Digital mental health (DMH) interventions, powered by artificial intelligence, mobile applications, and telemedicine, are rapidly advancing. These developments are transforming mental health care delivery, particularly in the context of global clinician shortages and the persistent impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the field lacks unified conceptual foundations, hindering standardization and equitable implementation. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, this scoping review synthesizes definitions of DMH from 33 peer-reviewed articles (2020–2025), identifies core dimensions and indicators, and evaluates existing assessment frameworks. Systematic searches across PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science revealed an evolution from broad technology-enabled support to sophisticated, AI-driven models that emphasize personalization, predictive analytics, and real-time adaptation. The review identified twelve core dimensions—including accessibility, equity and inclusion, co-design, effectiveness, engagement, usability, data privacy, implementation, youth involvement, cultural relevance, and refugee-specific considerations—with frequently reported indicators such as adherence, retention, user satisfaction, and symptom reduction. Evaluated frameworks (e.g., APA App Evaluation Model, NASSS, Digital Therapeutic Alliance, and E-XAI) demonstrated theoretical adaptability but highlighted significant resource and implementation barriers. We propose a comprehensive, integrative definition of DMH informed by the synthesized evidence. This scoping review underscores the transformative potential of DMH to deliver scalable, personalized, and equitable care worldwide, while persistent gaps in conceptual consensus, privacy policies, and culturally sensitive evaluation tools remain critical challenges. These findings highlight the urgent need for global terminological agreement and robust assessment standards to ensure DMH becomes truly inclusive and sustainable for diverse and underserved populations.

Designing a Policy Implementation Model for Drug Control (A Collaborative Governance Approach)

Zahra Amini , Yousef Mohammadi Moghadam ^* , Mahmoud Ahmadi Sharif iD

Participatory approaches provide a basis for the presence of citizens alongside governments in policy implementation and in the resolution of social problems. Because drug control is rooted in a deeply social context, it has substantial potential for the use of participatory approaches. Accordingly, the present study aimed to design a model for implementing drug control policies through a collaborative governance approach. The research used both qualitative and quantitative procedures and combined inductive and deductive reasoning. In terms of purpose, it was applied; in terms of nature and method, it was descriptive-survey. The statistical population consisted of 18 experts and informed specialists on the subject who were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews in the qualitative phase and through a questionnaire in the quantitative phase. Qualitative data were classified using grounded theory, and the quantitative phase validated the model through the fuzzy Delphi technique. Transferability in the qualitative phase was supported through systematic coding, and confirmability was strengthened through documentation and archiving of different coding stages, including initial coding. In the quantitative phase, reliability was assessed by the test-retest method and validity was examined through content validity. The qualitative findings produced 140 initial codes, 38 concepts, and 17 categories, which were positioned within the Strauss and Corbin grounded theory paradigm model. Based on the findings, the study recommends promoting civic demand-making in educational settings, emphasizing problem-oriented, legally aware, and contemporary civic education, conducting workshops on associational life, teaching principles of fairness, intergenerational responsibility and respect for human dignity, and implementing small-scale civic projects.

Journal of Foresight and Health Governance

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Sport Tourism as a Future-Oriented Public Health Strategy: Developing a Sustainable Development Model for Qeshm Island

Toward Intelligent Governance of Healthy Digital Learning Systems: A Future-Oriented Model of AI-Supported Blended Learning in Higher Education

Developing a Model of Organizational Inclusion in Multicultural Environments:Evidence from Government Organizations in Kermanshah Province, Iran

Designing a Competency Model for Negotiators of International Sports Contracts (Case Study: Football)

Meritocracy in the Selection of Senior Physical Education Managers in the Ministry of Education

Design and Development of the Strategic Plan of the Handball Federation of Iran

Formulation and Determination of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats, and Opportunities Governing Swimming in Iraq

Validation of a Model for Implementing Health System Policies in the Social Security Organization

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