The Natural Health Service
Dr William Bird Strategic Health Advisor Natural EnglandSenior Lecturer, Environment and Human Health Peninsula Medical School
National Indicators: Children and Young People
• NI 50: Emotional health of children• NI 55: Obesity in primary school age children in
Reception**• NI 56: Obesity in primary school age children in Year 6**• NI 57: Children and young people’s participation in high-
quality PE and sport• NI 69: Children who have experienced bullying• NI 110: Young people’s participation in positive activities
National Indicators: Adults
• NI 119: Self-reported measure of people’s overall health and wellbeing
• NI 120: All-age all cause mortality rate**• NI 121: Mortality rate from all circulatory diseases at ages
under 75**• NI 122 Mortality from all cancers at ages under 75**• NI 124: People with a long-term condition supported to be
independent and in control of their condition.• NI 125: Achieving independence for older people through
rehabilitation/intermediate care
National Indicators: Adults (cont)
• NI 134: The number of emergency bed days per head of weighted population
• NI 137: Healthy life expectancy at age 65*• NI 138: Satisfaction of people over 65 with both home and
neighbourhood• NI 141: Percentage of vulnerable people achieving
independent living
National Indicators: Strong and safer Communities
• NI 2: % of people who feel that they belong to their neighbourhood
• NI 2: % of people who feel that they belong to their neighbourhood
• NI 5: Overall/general satisfaction with local area• NI 6: Participation in regular volunteering• NI 8: Adult participation in sport and active recreation• NI 17: Perceptions of anti-social behaviour• NI 32: Repeat incidents of domestic violence
Human Benefts of Green Space
Physical Activity
Obesity
Mental Health
Health Inequalities Temperature Extremes
Shelter:UV, noise, wind
Carbon Offset
Air Quality
Indirect Effects Direct Effects
Social Cohesion
Health Inequalities
• PSA 18: To promote better health and wellbeing for all which includes targets to narrow the gap in life expectancy between the poorest areas and the national average.
• The government’s target is to reduce
the difference in life expectancy between Spearhead regions and the average by 10% by 2010.
• Age of death of the poorest compared to the average increased from 1.9 yrs to 2.0yrs in men and from 1.4 yrs to 1.6yrs in women between 1995-1997 and 2004-2006
Health Inequalities
DH, CLG• The Marmot review will
look at all indicators that contribute to Health Inequalities. Will report to PM Dec 2010
EVIDENCE• People on the same
income, who lived closer to green space lived longer and had less heart disease than those with less access. (Lancet 2009)
Mental Health
1. Mental illness affects 1 in 6 of the adult population
2. 1 in 5 under 16yr olds have a mental disorder
3. By 2020 the WHO claims that depression will be the second most prevalent cause of ill health
4. The total cost to the economy is £77 billion
5. Each year stress from work costs employers £3.75 Billion
What are we prescribing?
• In 2005 27.7 million antidepressant Prescriptions were written in England costing £338 million.
• The Chief medical officer states that “Physical activity is effective in the treatment of clinical depression and can be as successful as psychotherapy or medication” (DH 2004)
NICE Guidance on Walking
• ……. offer a range of walking schemes of low to moderate intensity with a choice of local routes to suit different abilities.
• Ensure that walking schemes: – are organised and led by
trained workers or ‘Walking the way to health initiative’ volunteer walk leaders from the local community who have been trained in first aid and in creating suitable walking routes
Kuo F (2001) Coping with Poverty: Impacts of environment and attention in the inner city.Environment and Behavior, Vol 33 No 1 January 2001.
Physical Activity
• Only 40% of men and 28% of women reach 30 X 5 target of Physical Activity.
• This falls to 8% and 3% over age 75yrs men/women.
• Physical Inactivity Costs the NHS £1.8 Billion
• Inactivity Costs Leeds PCT £10,189,600 (£1,405,352/100,000)
Sport participation: % of people participating for at least 30 mins once every 4 weeks. Sport England Active People Survey Dec 2006
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WalkingSwimmingGymCyclingFootballRunningGolf
Making it Happen
Editorial
“The challenge is to make politicians work for an environment that promotes walking, and to call on doctors to encourage patients to
walk…”BMJ 9th June 2007
Can Green Space increase levels of physical activity?
What motivates people to continue to participate in Health Walks.
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Can Green Space benefit the Health of the Population?
• Senior citizens lived longer with more space to walk and with nearby parks and tree lined streets near to where they live.
Tanaka A, Takano T,Nakamura K, et al. Health levels influenceby urban residential conditions in a megacity — Tokyo.UrbanStud 1996; 33: 879–945.
• For every 10% increase in green space there was a reduction in health complaints equivalent to a reduction of five years of age.
De Vries, S.Nature and health; the importance of green spacein the urban living environment. Proceedings of the symposium ‘Open space
functions under urban pressure’. Ghent: 19–21 September 2001.
• Being within access to Green space can increase levels of physical activity
Giles-Corti B,Donovan RJ. Relative influence of individual, social environmental, and physical environmental correlates of walking. Am J Public Health 2003; 93(9): 1583–1589.
Obesity
1. The UK has the highest rate in the EU
2. In the UK rates have tripled in the past 20 years
3. By 2050 60% of population and 1 in 4 under 16 year olds will be obese
4. Total cost of obesity to society will be £45 billion by 2020
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Is greenery associated with obesity? N = 6919
Childhood Obesity
• “Local Green space can help prevent obesity by slowing weight gain in children by as much as 5kg over 2 years[i]. “
[i] REF Neighborhood Greenness and 2-Year Changes in Body Mass Index of Children and Youth Janice F. Bell, PhD, MPH, Jeffrey S. Wilson, PhD, Gilbert C. Liu, MD, MS
• Am J Prev Med 2008;35(6)
Elderly
There are 750,000 people with Alzheimer’s. For every mile walked per week over a lifetime there is an estimated 13% reduced risk of cognitive decline.
Reduction in Blood Pressure following a stress event
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Traffic
Pedestrian Mall
Nature
Chronic Stress
Reduced Physical Activity
TrafficSocial Isolation
The Car
Obesity
Reduced access to Greenspace
Poor Air Quality
Social Barriers due to disconnection
Planning
Social Inequalities leading to environmental
injustice
Health Inequalities leading to environmental
injustice
How Stress can be seen as a major public Health Problem
Chronic Stress
Anxiety and Depression
Raised Inflammatory Markers
DiabetesCardiovascular Disease
Lung Disease
Cancer
Physical inactivity and Obesity
Social Isolation
Reduced access to Greenspace
Social Inequalities leading to environmental
injustice
The Natural Health Service
Increasing high quality Green Space
Connecting people to the Green Space
NHS Forest Twinning NHS with local
Greenspace
Olympic ParkEast London Green Grid
WHI To create 10,000
walks per week
Blue Gym
activities connected with Marine
Green Gym all conservation
volunteering
NICE Guidance
QOF and other rewards to GPs
ANGSTPlanning will be a
key driver
MRC / Natural England Research NetworkThe Whole of the Natural Health service will be underpinned by research being led by the Peninsula Medical School that will answer the main questions. 1) How can people get connected to their Natural Environment. 2) What are the direct health benefits of green space? 3) What physiological mechanisms cause the health benefits 4) What changes in health are generated by a change in environment (Intervention studies)
The Natural Health Service
Increasing high quality Green Space
Connecting people to the Green Space
NHS Forest Twinning NHS with local
Greenspace
Olympic ParkEast London Green Grid
WHI To create 10,000
walks per week
Blue Gym
activities connected with Marine
Green Gym all conservation
volunteering
NICE Guidance
QOF and other rewards to GPs
ANGSTPlanning will be a
key driver
MRC / Natural England Research NetworkThe Whole of the Natural Health service will be underpinned by research being led by the Peninsula Medical School that will answer the main questions. 1) How can people get connected to their Natural Environment. 2) What are the direct health benefits of green space? 3) What physiological mechanisms cause the health benefits 4) What changes in health are generated by a change in environment (Intervention studies)
The Natural Health Service
Increasing high quality Green Space
Connecting people to the Green Space
NHS Forest Twinning NHS with local
Greenspace
WHI To create 10,000
walks per week
Blue Gym
activities connected with
Marine
Green Gym all conservation
volunteering
NICE Guidance
QOF and other rewards to GPs
Planning
MRC / Natural England Research NetworkThe Whole of the Natural Health service will be underpinned by research being led by the Peninsula Medical School that will answer the main questions. 1) How can people get connected to their Natural Environment. 2) What are the direct health benefits of green space? 3) What physiological mechanisms cause the health benefits 4) What changes in health are generated by a change in environment (Intervention studies)
The Natural Health Service
Increasing high quality Green Space
Connecting people to the Green Space
NHS Forest Twinning NHS with local
Greenspace
WHI To create 10,000
walks per week
Blue Gym
activities connected with
Marine
Green Gym all conservation
volunteering
NICE Guidance
QOF and other rewards to GPs
Planning
MRC / Natural England Research NetworkThe Whole of the Natural Health service will be underpinned by research being led by the Peninsula Medical School that will answer the main questions. 1) How can people get connected to their Natural Environment. 2) What are the direct health benefits of green space? 3) What physiological mechanisms cause the health benefits 4) What changes in health are generated by a change in environment (Intervention studies)
Walking the Way to Health
• National Health Walk Scheme to promote brisk walking in the Community.
• 2200 walks a week• Over 525 schemes now
active throughout UK.• Free training for over
35,000 volunteer leaders. • All areas eligible but
deprived areas have greater priority.
• Joint working and funding with DH.
• Led by The Peninsula Medical School with DH, Natural England Environment Agency and National Marine Aquarium.
• Helps individual projects that use water to promote physical activity to engage with PCTs and LAs.
• Has strong environmental drive
• To be launched later in Spring 2009
The Blue Gym
The Natural Health Service
Increasing high quality Green Space
Connecting people to the Green Space
NHS Forest Twinning NHS with local
Greenspace
WHI To create 10,000
walks per week
Blue Gym
activities connected with
Marine
Green Gym all conservation
volunteering
NICE Guidance
QOF and other rewards to GPs
Planning
MRC / Natural England Research NetworkThe Whole of the Natural Health service will be underpinned by research being led by the Peninsula Medical School that will answer the main questions. 1) How can people get connected to their Natural Environment. 2) What are the direct health benefits of green space? 3) What physiological mechanisms cause the health benefits 4) What changes in health are generated by a change in environment (Intervention studies)
Credibility
– Help NICE to have the right evaluation data– Ensure that evidence of health benefits of natural
environment are quantified.
Manchester Points4Life Winning Healthy Town announced today
• Loyalty card to be developed throughout Manchester .
• To be developed using commercial expertise.
• Points will only achieve full value if physical activity is maintained.
• Much of the physical activity will be based on walking in greenspace
Summary
• Green Space can help deliver National Indicators• The main areas are
– Health Inequalities– Mental Health– Obesity– Physical Activity– Social Cohesion– Direct effects
• The Natural Health Service will bring all evidence guidance and delivery together
• Initial work with 4 main delivery projects