Journal of Foresight and Health Governance

Sport tourism has become a strategically important field for regional development, particularly in destinations that combine natural assets, sport facilities, cultural attractions, and cross-border market potential. However, sport tourism destinations often remain fragmented when public agencies, tourism businesses, sport organizations, and technology providers operate without an integrated destination management system. Objective: This study aimed to develop and test a feasibility model for implementing a sport tourism destination management system in Northwestern Iran using a strategic foresight perspective. The study used an applied descriptive-correlational field design. The statistical population consisted of managers and experts from sport and youth departments, cultural heritage and tourism organizations, active travel-service offices, and university faculty members in sport management across Northwestern Iran. A Delphi procedure was used to refine indicators, and 153 completed questionnaires were analyzed. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS and SmartPLS with partial least squares structural equation modeling. The Delphi procedure produced consensus after two rounds. In the structural model, all four feasibility dimensions had positive and significant effects on the implementation of the sport tourism destination management system: managerial factors (β = 0.84, t = 33.58, p < 0.001), economic factors (β = 0.83, t = 29.17, p < 0.001), technological factors (β = 0.83, t = 27.26, p < 0.001), and environmental factors (β = 0.72, t = 10.11, p < 0.001). The results indicate that managerial coordination is the primary driver of implementation, followed closely by economic and technological readiness. Successful implementation requires integrated governance, investment planning, digital infrastructure, environmental and stakeholder coordination, legal support, human-resource development, and public-private cooperation. The proposed model offers a practical framework for improving sport tourism competitiveness and sustainable destination development in Northwestern Iran.

This qualitative study developed a paradigmatic model for track and field development in Iraq. Track and field is a foundational Olympic discipline with potential to strengthen public health, youth development, sport culture, international representation, and sport diplomacy. However, its development in Iraq has been constrained by managerial instability, financial limitations, weak infrastructure, insufficient human resources, limited school-based talent identification, socio-cultural barriers, and political-security disruptions. Using the grounded theory approach of Strauss and Corbin, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 experts, including national and age-group coaches, Iraqi Athletics Federation officials, university faculty members, and international referees. Participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling until theoretical saturation was reached. Data were analyzed in MAXQDA through open, axial, and selective coding. The analysis produced 177 open codes, 34 axial codes, and five selective categories. The final model included causal conditions, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, strategies, and consequences. Causal conditions consisted of managerial and financial challenges, infrastructure and human-resource limitations, and education and talent-development challenges. Contextual conditions comprised cultural-social, structural-demographic, and economic-organizational factors. Intervening conditions included political-security and temporary managerial-institutional influences. The proposed strategies included governance reform, human-resource development, talent identification, international engagement, media promotion, technology use, and infrastructure expansion. Expected outcomes included health and sport development, cultural and social development, economic and infrastructural development, and political-international development. The model indicates that sustainable track and field development in Iraq requires integrated intervention across governance, finance, education, culture, infrastructure, and international cooperation.

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.

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.

The present study aimed to formulate and determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats governing children’s swimming in Iraq in order to provide practical strategies for the development of this fundamental and medal-winning sport. This applied descriptive-analytical study included sport managers, coaches, young swimmers, and physical education students in Iraq. A total of 134 participants were selected purposively. Data were collected through documentary studies, expert interviews, and a researcher-made questionnaire. The face and content validity of the questionnaire were confirmed, and its reliability, measured by Cronbach’s alpha, ranged from 0.85 to 0.92. Descriptive statistics, the Friedman test, Internal and External Factor Evaluation matrices, the Internal-External matrix, and SWOT analysis were used for data analysis. The results showed a significant difference among the four SWOT factors. The most important strengths included the existence of educational institutions related to physical education, the presence of specialized sport managers, and the existence of talented children and adolescents. The most important weaknesses included insufficient attention to children’s needs and interests, limited access to standard facilities, and lack of financial resources. The existence of potential talents, increased participation of children in sport activities, and expansion of sport events were identified as the most important opportunities. In addition, the increased cost of swimming pool maintenance, the rising price of equipment, and children’s tendency toward sedentary leisure activities were among the most important threats. Based on SWOT analysis, 11 strategies were formulated in four groups: aggressive, competitive, conservative, and defensive. The development of children’s swimming in Iraq requires strategic planning, coordination among sport and educational institutions, sustainable investment, and serious attention to children’s age-related needs. It is suggested that establishing an integrated talent identification system, training specialized coaches, and standardizing equipment and swimming pools for children should be prioritized in executive programs.