What is a Sport-Health Center?
A Sport-Health Center (Maison Sport-Santé) is part of the national network created in 2019 by the French ministries in charge of Sports and Health, under the National Sport and Health Strategy. Staffed by health and sports professionals, it welcomes, informs, refers and supports people who want to be physically active for health reasons, with or without a medical prescription. It serves healthy people who are not physically active, for prevention, as well as people with a chronic disease or a long-term condition, risk factors or loss of autonomy. It is not a single type of facility: a Sport-Health Center may be run by a local authority, a hospital, a sports association or a public body, or operate as a mobile service.
Why the program was created
The legal framework for prescribing physical activity has existed since 2016, but physicians report needing support to refer their patients. In a 2020-2021 survey for the French National Cancer Institute (INCa), 67% of general practitioners who had not used the prescription did not feel sufficiently supported to refer their patients. This lack of visibility on available services is among the main barriers to prescription, along with lack of training and difficulty translating guidelines into practice.
Sport-Health Centers address this need by providing an identifiable entry point in each area, bridging healthcare and physical activity.
Their missions, step by step
Welcome and assess
The center presents the program, the benefits of physical activity and local options, then assesses physical fitness and motivation, on site or with a partner. This assessment does not replace a medical assessment when the clinical situation requires one. Afterward, the person may be referred directly to a sports club if their fitness does not require supervised care.
Support through a program
When needed, the person follows a supervised sport-health program lasting three months on average, in adapted physical activity or in general physical and sporting activity. This is the phase in which program adherence is built.
Refer and follow up
At the end of the program, the person is referred to supervised practice in a club or gym, or to independent practice. When a medical prescription is involved, one or more post-program assessments are planned.
How to work with them when prescribing
Three principles make referral easier.
- Send a precise prescription. A prescription that only says “physical activity recommended” leaves the center without guidance. The official form asks for the type of activity, its duration, frequency and intensity, among other things; adding precautions related to the condition helps the center get started in good conditions.
- Identify the center before the consultation. Knowing the Sport-Health Centers in your area lets you refer concretely rather than leaving patients to search on their own.
- Organize feedback. For prescribed adapted physical activity, the regulations require assessments and reports to be sent to the prescribing physician with the patient's consent. Making sure this feedback happens tells you whether the patient has started and how they are progressing.
Limitations of the program
They are worth knowing in order to refer patients in good conditions.
- Visibility is still imperfect. Physical activity on prescription schemes still seem to lack visibility and clarity for physicians, according to an article published by Santé publique France in 2022.
- A wide variety of facilities. Local authorities, hospitals, sports associations, public bodies, mobile services: the network brings together facilities of very different types and sponsors.
- Funding to be checked. Adapted physical activity is not covered by French national health insurance as a general rule; financial conditions vary from one center to another.
- Follow-up to be organized. Feedback to the prescriber requires the patient's consent and coordination between the center and the physician.
Find a Sport-Health Center. The French Ministry of Sports publishes an interactive map of Sport-Health Centers (in French), searchable by city or geolocation.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Sport-Health Center?
It is part of the national network created in 2019 by the French ministries in charge of Sports and Health. Staffed by health and sports professionals, it welcomes, informs, refers and supports people who want to be physically active for health reasons.
How many are there in France?
The Ministry of Sports currently lists 581, across all departments of mainland France and almost all overseas territories. Since their launch, they have supported 870,000 people who are ill or not physically active, according to the ministry.
Is a prescription needed to go there?
No. Sport-Health Centers welcome people with or without a medical prescription. For people with a chronic disease, risk factors or loss of autonomy, however, adapted physical activity requires a physician's prescription.
Are the sessions reimbursed?
Adapted physical activity is not covered by French national health insurance as a general rule. Financial conditions vary between centers, so it is worth checking with the center concerned.
How does it differ from a sports club?
A club offers sports practice. A Sport-Health Center welcomes the person, assesses their fitness and motivation, offers a supervised program if needed, then refers them to lasting practice, in a club or independently.
How can I find the nearest center?
The French Ministry of Sports provides an interactive map and a list of centers. Identifying the center in your area before the consultation makes it easier to refer the patient concretely.
What happens after referral?
In the pathway described by the ministry, a supervised program lasts three months on average, after which the person is referred to practice in a club, a gym or independently. When a medical prescription is involved, post-program assessments are planned and can be sent to the prescribing physician with the patient's consent.
Editorial review in progress by MYA's editorial committee.
Editorial content intended to inform health professionals. It does not constitute individual medical advice and does not replace assessment by a professional.