JANUARY 2009

Teenage girls have been identified as a group at high risk of dropping out of sport and doing little physical activity. One means of trying to combat this problem has been to encourage girls to get involved in dance. A three-year project, Dance in Schools Initiative (DISI), was launched in schools in Scotland to bring dance to all schoolchildren and its success has led to a further investment by the Scottish government in dance as part of its recently launched obesity strategy aimed at teenage girls. This article looks at DISI and the new initiative, Free to Dance.

onlineonline

Short interview with Author Anna Kenrick on the Free to Dance project.

Preview of the AnyBodyCanDance and 321Go! interactive dance CD-ROMs

children & young people y dance

strictly

active

By anna kenrick

THe DeLiVerer

YDance (Scottish Youth Dance) is

the leading provider of quality dance

education for young people in Scotland.

It has been working through key

partnerships in education, culture,

health and sport to offer children and

young people

the opportunity

to realise their

potential as

individuals through

dance.

After the

success of

the three-year

Dance in Schools Initiative (DISI) the

company has joined forces once again

with the Scottish government’s health

department this time on a new project

to get teenage girls active through

dance – Free To Dance. As part of

the Health Department’s ongoing

commitment to combat obesity in

the young people of Scotland they

are funding this three-year initiative to

encourage girls aged between 14 and

18 to explore dance as an alternative

to PE and other sports activities.

Dance in ScHOOLS

iniTiaTiVe (DiSi)

DISI was funded by the Scottish

Executive Health Department and

aimed to get young people active,

promote a sense of well being and

a respect for healthy living through

a programme of in-school dance

workshops. The initiative also worked

to ensure that teachers had the

necessary skills, experience and

resources to ensure sustainability of

dance in schools at the end of the

project through an in-service training

programme and the provision of

interactive dance CD-ROMs:

n AnyBodyCanDance (for ages 8-14)

n the BAFTA-nominated 321Go! (for

ages 4-7).

DiSi - facts and figures

n DISI ran from April 2005 to March

2008

n DISI recruited 12 full time dance

tutors for a three year period

n DISI was rolled out in 732 schools

in 31 of the 32 local authorities in

Scotland from the Borders to the

Shetland Isles

n DISI got 234,817 young people

aged between 5 and 14 active through

dance.

The evaluation

CAHRU (Child and Adolescent Health

Research Unit) carried out an evaluation

on the project (1) and it commented:

‘The DISI clearly generated a great

deal of excitement in schools when the

workshops were underway. Teachers

felt it promoted a sense of freedom

and enhanced the confidence of pupils;

www.sportEX.net

7

potentially important determinants of

longer-term participation’. The report

showed that the scheme had been

successful among primary schoolgirls

citing immediate positive effects:

n Enjoyment was greater than

anticipated

n Felt happier and more confident

participating they had imagined

n Attitudes towards dance were more

positive

n Frequency of informal participation in

dance increased

n They were more likely to cite

dance as a favourite physical activity

afterwards

n Wanted dance lessons in school

n Increased feeling of competence in

physical activity

n Increases in moderate physical

activity in school were also found.

Secondary schoolgirls

DISI was found to be less successful

in reaching secondary schoolgirls.

However, the authors warned that

findings should be interpreted with

caution as they mostly represent girls

from one secondary school (survey of

pupils before and after programme) and

pointed out that a number of atypical

issues arose at the implementation

stage (class sizes, disruption as

a result of staff illness and lack of

continuity).

Secondary girls in this school:

n Did not enjoy the DISI workshops as

much as they had expected

Teenage girls have been identified as a group at high risk of

dropping out of sport and doing little physical activity. One

means of trying to combat this problem has been to

encourage girls to get involved in dance. A three-year

project, Dance in Schools Initiative (DISI), was launched in

schools in Scotland to bring dance to all schoolchildren

and its success has led to a further investment by the

Scottish government in dance as part of its recently

launched obesity strategy aimed at teenage girls. This

article looks at DISI and the new initiative, Free to Dance.

PHOTO

GRA

PH C

OURT

ESY O

F: T

IlO S

TEnGEl

More than half of the car journeys in London are less than two kilometres in length, so walking or cycling these journeys can be a great way to incorporate exercise into the daily routine while also reducing car use. This article looks at plans to get the people of Sutton to be more active when making transport choices.

In January 2006, Everyday Swim was launched with an investment of £4m over three years to encourage people to swim for leisure, fitness and fun. As the funding for the initial wave comes to an end this article looks at the projects, the lessons learned and the next steps.

Video of Duncan Goodhew promoting the EverydaySwim Initiative

onlineonline

Powerpoint presentation≠– What is Everyday Swim?

How to... encourage swimming

In January 2006, Everyday Swim was launched with an investment of

£4m over three years to encourage people to swim for leisure, fitness

and fun. As the funding for the initial wave comes to an end this article

looks at the projects, the lessons learned and the next steps.

By Kate Sargent

everyday Swim is a national project

funded with £3m from Sport

England and over £1m from local

partners, led by the ASA (Amateur

Swimming Association, the national

governing body concerned with every

element of swimming). The project

was launched because the number of

people swimming in the UK has been

static for 20 years. Everyday Swim has

pioneered new ways of making all pool

activity more accessible and popular,

with the aim of getting more people

swimming and finding out ‘what works’

in getting more people into our pools.

The project needed a champion

and Olympic Gold medallist, Duncan

Goodhew, took on the role of the

Everyday Swim ambassador. He said:

“I wanted to support Everyday Swim

because everyone should have the

opportunity to swim. The feeling of the

water on your skin, the sounds, the

smells, it leaves you feeling so good

and it’s a great motivator.”

tHe PrOJeCtS

In the first three years of Everyday

Swim, eight pilot projects (see box) have

taken place across the country, with

each project having a different focus.

telford and Wrekin

In Telford and Wrekin, the focus has

been on disabled people and children

from disadvantaged communities and

their families. “It has made a huge,

huge difference to us. It has given us

confidence in the water and in life.

We are not different in the water.”

These are the words of Marion

Sheppard, a visually impaired woman

from Telford who has rediscovered

a passion not only for swimming but

also for physical activity generally.

Marion was persuaded into going

to one of the lessons by her friend,

Yvonne Richardson, who had not been

swimming for years but wanted to

be able to. Everyday Swim provided a

swimming instructor to help improve

their technique and act as a guide in

the water because both are visually

impaired. As a result both were able to

gain the confidence and ability to swim

– and have since gone onto other

physical activities. The project even

thought about their guide dogs, Bart

and Lucas who can be left securely

thanks to loops installed at Wellington

Civic and Leisure Centre.

Swimgospel in Lewisham

One of the noisiest projects has

been in Lewisham, where the London

Community Gospel Choir flooded the

pool with music to launch ‘SwimGospel’.

The scheme was the brainchild of

Andrea Enchinas of British Gospel

Arts and with the ASA she turned the

idea of combining her two favourite

pastimes – swimming and singing -

into a nine-week programme. It was

particularly fitting for Lewisham, where

the target is to break down the barriers

to participation that prevent particular

InCREASInG pARTICIpATIOn ISn’T JUST ABOUT

UppInG THE nUMBER Of SWIMS, BUT

ALSO THE nUMBERS Of SWIMMERS

www.sportEX.net

15

tHe everyday

swim project

social and minority ethnic groups

from getting involved in swimming

and other aquatic activities. people

were given the chance to access a

45-minute singing lesson, followed by

a 30-minute instructor-led swimming

lesson and under 19s were especially

encouraged to bring their parents,

carers and grandparents with them for

the experience.

Maths and science in easington

In Easington, one project saw maths

and science incorporated into fun pool

sessions. Children were encouraged to

count their breaths and the amount of

strokes per length. The idea was to get

them doing simple maths calculations

to improve their education along with

their health.

Fun for all - Kirklees

In Kirklees, the aim was making

swimming ‘fun for all’, children were

also treated to more unusual activities

such as Aqua Camp (pool based

games), Caribbean pirates, flip n fun

(introduction to diving) and Grab n

Splash (grab the toys).

getting older people in the pool -

Wirral and Suffolk

On the Wirral and in Suffolk the

projects have looked at getting older

people back into the pool (those over

HEALTH PROMOTION ACTIVE TRAVEL

A SMARTER WAY TO TRAVEL More than half of the car journeys in London are less than two

kilometres in length, so walking or cycling these journeys can be a

great way to incorporate exercise into the daily routine while also

reducing car use. This article looks at plans to get the people of

Sutton to be more active when making transport choices.

By Barry Causer

T he Active Steps Programme has

been established in order to

contribute to a number of social issues:

n The inactivity of adultsn High levels of car usen High petrol pricesn The pressures to reduce our carbon

footprint. There are many well-known

health risks that are linked to physical

inactivity, including coronary heart

disease, obesity, diabetes and certain

cancers. Despite this, only 10.7% of

Sutton residents currently achieve the

Department of Health’s recommended

30 minutes of moderate physical

activity on five days per week. Active

Steps complements other initiatives

on offer in Sutton to provide a way to

incorporate physical activity as part of

everyday life.WHaT Is THe PrOJeCT?

Delivered by Sutton and Merton

NHS Primary Care Trust, the 12

month initiative has been created in

partnership with Smarter Travel Sutton,

a three year, £5 million partnership

between Sutton Council and Transport

for London. Smarter Travel Sutton

aims to reduce car trips in Sutton and

increase the number of people using

public transport, walking and cycling

in the borough through promoting

sustainable transport methods.

People who could gain benefits

from increasing their activity levels will

be signposted to the scheme by health

practitioners such as diabetic retinal

screeners, smoking cessation advisors,

GPs and practice nurses. During

the 12 week programme those who

have expressed an interest will meet

with a specially trained Active Steps

advisor who will conduct a motivational

interview and help them to:

n Overcome barriers to walking or

cyclingn Create personal goals n Provide them with information such

as cycle and walking maps and/or

access to free cycle training. They will also be: n Sent weekly messages of support

by text or mailn Provided with a pedometer to count

their steps each day n Given a fridge magnet with a blank

section that can be used to plan goals

and note achievements. After 12 weeks they will see their

Active Steps advisor again to explore

how they have got on, explore what

was easy, what was difficult, and if

needed, re-evaluate their goals. MOTIVaTIONaL INTerVIeWINGThe behavioural change interview

is based upon the principles of

motivational interviewing (MI) (see

article on page 10). MI follows a client

centred and semi-directive approach of

exploring ambivalence and increasing

intrinsic motivation within the individual.

This method allows for the identification

of possible barriers to change and

ways in which to overcome them,

and the setting of realistic and

achievable goals. The four basic principles

of motivational interviewing

which are being using during

the Active Steps interventions

are:

1. express empathy - expressing

empathy towards a service user shows

acceptance and increases the chances

of developing a rapport. 2. Develop discrepancy – developing

discrepancy enables the client to see

that their present situation does not

necessarily fit into the values they

would like in the future. The service

user should present the argument for

change, not the Active Steps advisor.

3. roll with resistance – rolling with

resistance prevents a breakdown in

communication between the Active

Steps advisor and the service user and

allows the individual to explore their

views.4. support self-efficacy – self-

efficacy is a crucial component to

facilitating change. If the individual

believes they have the ability to change

the likelihood of change occurring is

greatly increased.aIMs

The wider Smarter Travel

Sutton programme has the clear

aim of reducing residents car trips in Sutton by at least 5% by promoting a shift towards more sustainable modes of transport,

consequently improving individuals’ health. Smarter Travel

ACTIve STePS AIMS TO CONTrIbuTe TO

SMArTer TrAveL SuTTON by PrOMOTING

THe HeALTH beNefITS Of ACTIve TrANSPOrT AND

POTeNTIALLy CAPITALISING ON THe wHITe

COAT effeCT

www.sportEX.net

13

health

activityfor

promoting

highlightsn CAN YDANCE tEMPt

tEEENAgERs?n �MotivAtioNAl iNtERviEwiNg

AND PhYsiCAl ACtivitY

n �how to gEt PRoPlE

swiMMiNgn �thE Kiwi EXERCisE

PRogRAMME FoR olDER

PEoPlE

FoRMERlY hEAlthEX sPECiAlist

ISSUE 19 Jan 2009

Technology is one avenue to tackle an increasing unhealthy population including looking for innovative and new ways to provide incentives and excite individuals to lead a healthier life. CredX is a new system that combines technology advancements with the popularity of loyalty schemes such as Air Miles and Nectar points. This combination aims to encourage individuals to take more exercise. This article looks at CredX and how it works.

technology the credx scheme

By Dr William BirDThe origins of CreDXCredX was the brainchild of Dr William Bird working together

with Mobile Radicals, a group of mobile phone researchers

based principally within the Informatics Group from the

department of Communication Systems at Lancaster

University. www.mobileradicals.com The aimThe aim of CredX is simple - to encourage people to

exercise and motivate them to keep exercising by linking

it to some sort of reward scheme. The name CredX is not

only a shortened name of Credit Exercise but also credex

that is latin for ‘believe, trust and commit’ – three values that

underpin CredX.WhaT is iT? CredX is an incentive scheme for exercise. It provides

a means of measuring how much exercise an individual

does through mobile phone technology. Individuals can see

how much exercise they are doing and collects points or

discounts as a reward for their efforts.hoW Does iT WorK?

The individuals who want to be part of the scheme have

a card or wristband – this is swiped using Nokia 6131NFC

mobile phone. This can be fixed in place using specially

designed acrylic holders, such as tennis court or in parks,

so that journeys can be monitored. This records how

much exercise they are doing and links in to the relevant

discount rewards scheme.esssential componentsn Tags - these can take the form or a card or a

key fob they can be swiped – these can cost 50p.

A wristband can also be used these cost around 90p

eachn mobile phone - the Nokia 6131NFC. This can be held

by the leader of an organised exercise session or it can

be placed in a specially designed acrylic holder outside. How

it is used depends on the scheme and how it is organised.

The phone costs around £140

n Website - All points, steps speeds and rewards are

recorded on a website where participants can find out how

their own personal records – what points they

have got etc. The website can used to link

participants to all local exercise opportunities.

sPonsors CreaTe reWarDs

There are three current methods of reward but CredX FoR oRGANISERS oF SpoRT

CLUBS, pARkS AND ACTIvITIES

SUCH AS HEALTH WALkS, CREDX CAN

HELp To MoNIToR WHo HAS TURNED

Up, THEIR AGE, WHERE THEy LIvE

AND WHEN THEy ATTENDEDwww.sportEX.net

23

Points means Prizes

is a foundation on which any charity, community or

workplace can raise money and get rewards.

1. sponsorship by place A company can sponsor a phone receiver so that every

time it is swiped a small amount of

money is donated to a good cause.

For example a phone receiver in a

park will generate a small amount of

money, donated by a local company,

every time someone swipes it with a CredX

card. This could be donated, for example, to upgrade the

children’s playground.2. sponsorship by person

As soon as someone completes 150 minutes of exercise in

a week using CredX they will receive a text with a Bar code

on their ordinary mobile phone. This can be used to redeem

discounts and special offers at 60,000 small shops through

Shop Scan Save®.3. sponsoring others CredX can be used to set challenges to raise money. people

could sponsor you to climb the equivalent of Everest by using

Technology is one avenue to tackle an increasing

unhealthy population including looking for innovative and

new ways to provide incentives and excite individuals

to lead a healthier life. CredX is a new system that

combines technology advancements with the popularity

of loyalty schemes such as Air Miles and Nectar points.

This combination aims to encourage individuals to take

more exercise. This article looks at CredX and how it

works.

WHAT: Workplace health promotion: how to encourage employees to be physically activeWHY: The Department of Health asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to produce public health guidance on how to encourage employees to be physically active WHEN: The guidance was published May 2008WHO IS IT FOR: Employers and professionals in all sizes of businesses who have a responsibility for, and a direct or indirect role in, improving health in the workplace. It will also be of interest to employees, trade union representatives and members of the public.

workplace health nice guidance

By Jackie cresswell

BackGrOUNDPhysical inactivity in England costs an estimated £8.2 billion each year – this includes the direct costs of treating diseases linked to lack of activity and the indirect costs caused through sickness absence (1). Against these figures it is clear that a physically active workforce can lead to financial benefits for employers (as well as benefiting staff). These include increased productivity and less sickness absence as well as greater staff retention.

The physical activity recommendations can be used to help improve both the physical and mental wellbeing of staff. According to NICE, physical activity contributes to both, but currently 65% of men and 76% of women in England are not active enough to benefit (2). The recommendations could also be used to help reduce the number of working days lost to work-related illnesses each year. Some musculoskeletal disorders in particular, can be alleviated by physical activity. During 2005–2006, musculoskeletal disorders alone resulted in 9.5 million days off work (3).

THe recOMMeNDaTiONsThe document makes a series of recommendations to help boost physical activity within the workplace. These include:

1. Policy and planning Develop an organisation-wide plan or policy to encourage and support employees to be more physically active. These should: n Include measures to maximise the opportunity for all employees to participate in physical activityn Be based on consultation with staff and should ensure that staff are involved in the planning, design, as well as monitoring activities, on an ongoing basisn Any plan should be supported by management and have dedicated resourcesn Organisational goals need to set and be linked to

www.sportEX.net 25

NIce work: IF YoU caN IMpleMeNt It wHaT: Workplace health promotion: how to encourage employees to be physically activewHy: The Department of Health asked the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to produce public health guidance on how to encourage employees to be physically active wHeN: The guidance was published May 2008wHO is iT FOr: Employers and professionals in all sizes of businesses who have a responsibility for, and a direct or indirect role in, improving health in the workplace. It will also be of interest to employees, trade union representatives and members of the public.

onlineonlinen Website – Later Life Training - Otago Exercise Programme http://www.laterlifetraining.co.uk/ Otago.htmln Presentation – on the Otago Exercise Programme http://tinyurl.com/5d93xyn Booklet – Otago Exercise Programme (PDF) http://tinyurl.com/5lrotl

The Otago exercise programme (OEP) is a supported home exercise programme designed to help increase the strength and balance of older people in order to prevent falls. This article describes a highly successful collaborative project between the authors of the New Zealand based OEP and Later Life training to implement the programme in areas of the UK.

sportEX health 2009;19(Jan):18-20

The Otago exercise programme (OEP) is a supported home exercise

programme designed to help increase the strength and balance of older

people in order to prevent falls. This article describes a highly successful

collaborative project between the authors of the New Zealand based OEP and Later Life training to implement the

programme in areas of the UK.

18

OvEr a Third Of OvEr 65 yEar OLds aNd a

sTaggEriNg haLf Of aLL OvEr 85 yEar OLds faLL EvEry yEar

BY Sheena Gawler and dawn Skelton

the orIGInSProf John Campbell and dr Clare robertson, based in New Zealand at the University of Otago, are the authors of the OEP. They devised a programme of strength and balance exercises to help prevent falls among older people. The efficacy of the programme was tested in a series of four randomised controlled trials from 1997 to 2005 (1-4) and a recent trial involved a group exercise programme by the University of sydney (5).

StronG eVIdenCe BaSeThese trials involved over 1,000 older participants who performed the strength and balance exercises three times a week for a year in their own homes (or 6 months in a group) with guidance on exercise technique from a trained professional (physiotherapist; nurse trained by a physiotherapist; exercise instructor). The studies showed an overall decrease in falls by about 35%. although a limited number of other research studies have shown a higher percentage decrease in falls following strength and balance exercise, these have not involved such high numbers of participants nor have the exercises been “put to the test” in such a high number of trials, therefore the OEP is considered to be the jewel in the crown of falls exercise research.

it was this that led Later Life Training to contact the authors and collaborate with them to provide training courses for health and exercise

professionals resulting in The Otago Exercise Programme Leader’s Course.

FallS and FraIltYfalls and consequent injuries are a huge problem in the older UK population (6). There are currently over 11 million people aged 65 and over and nearly 30,000 aged over 90 years. Over a third of over 65 year olds fall every year and a staggering half of all over 85 year olds (7). Three quarters of people living in residential care fall repeatedly every year (8). There are huge associated costs to both the individual and the health service. for example, 10% of all ambulance service call outs are for people aged 65 and over who have fallen but nearly half of these are not taken to hospital. These older people are not injured but simply lack the ability to get themselves up from the floor (7). Commonly this is due to poor strength and flexibility, particularly in their legs. These components of fitness, along with balance, are targeted in the OEP. The OEP can potentially reduce the number of ambulance call outs and the associated financial cost but also improve the quality of the older person’s life by the reducing fear of falling and improving their confidence

and ability to perform daily tasks. This may, in turn, broaden their social activities and reduce isolation and loneliness. recent work suggests group OEP exercise also improved cognitive function and quality of life among older participants (5).

StandardISed delIVerYalthough the OEP is available to download from the internet, LLT wanted to achieve higher standards of delivery of these exercises in terms of exercise technique, and therefore safety and effectiveness of the programme across national falls and exercise services via effective training of health and exercise professionals. The partnership between LLT and the OEP authors was therefore developed, with LLT designing the training package and writing and producing the training course materials. Much expertise was gleaned from the OEP authors not only with regard to the implementation of the intervention itself but more pertinently in terms of training OEP leaders, as they had originally

a question of balance

CONTACT +44 (0)845 652 1906 www.sportex.net

Motivational interviewing (MI) was initially developed as a useful method to help individuals change problem drinking behaviour. Historically, MI has an impressive history in helping individuals to change various addictive behaviours. However, since the 1990s, MI has developed an

increasingly diverse profile with positive trials of MI being documented in the management of various chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and hypertension. This article looks at what MI is and how it can be used to help people become more physically active.

onlineonline

n Website – Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers – www.motivationalinterview.orgn Videos - Check out Tor’s YouTube playlist of motivational interviewing clips at http://tinyurl.com/5zaot9 – if you have others share them with Tor on YouTuben Presentations - a couple of presentation resources on SlideShare http://www.slideshare.net/group/sportex-health – background on MI and an idea for creating a motivational interviewing inspired booklet.

sportEX health 2009;19(Oct):10-12

MI and

physIcal

actIvIty

Motivational interviewing (MI) was initially developed as

a useful method to help individuals change problem

drinking behaviour. Historically, MI has an impressive

history in helping individuals to change various

addictive behaviours. However, since the 1990s, MI has

developed an increasingly diverse profile with positive

trials of MI being documented in the management

of various chronic diseases such as cardiovascular

disease and hypertension. This article looks at what

MI is and how it can be used to help people become

more physically active.

10

By Charlotte hilton and edward Poulter

what iS MotiVational interViewinG?

The method of MI is often confused with the stages of

change component of the transtheoretical (TTM) theory of

behaviour change (1). However, it is important to note that,

although the TTM theory and MI method have developed at

roughly the same time, the two are completely independent

of one another. The TTM may help us to understand

the processes of behaviour change, while MI should be

considered as contributing to our understanding of how we

go about facilitating behaviour change in practice.

the spirit of Mi

MI is not a technique that is used on someone or applied

as a method of persuasion to those that are particularly

resistant or considered completely unmotivated. Indeed, as

individuals involved in the role of helping people, perhaps it is

far more productive to consider that everyone has motivation

for change. The role of a skilful practitioner is to elicit these

motivations in a manner that is collaborative, evo

cative and

honours patient autonomy (2). This is referred to as the spirit

of MI and is considered fundamental to the integration of MI

into everyday practice. Attempting to integrate MI using the

guiding principles and methods of MI without the spirit are

often referred to as being like ‘dancing without music.’

the GuidinG PrinCiPleS and MethodS

oF MiUnderpinning MI as a method are four guiding principles,

namely:

1) To resist the righting reflex

2) To understand and explore a person’s own motivations

3) To listen with empathy

4) To empower the client, encouraging hope and optimism.

1. the righting reflex. The righting reflex refers to our innate

desire to direct someone away from harm. In the helping

professions, it is particularly easy to fall into the trap of

identifying those factors that indicate an unhealthy lifestyle

and proceed to explain how an alternative behaviour could

contribute to improvements in health. The intention is to help

clients understand how they may choose alternative health

behaviours and to offer them advice and knowledge in the

hope that they may understand things differently. However,

the difficulty with this response is that it tends to increase

the likelihood of resistance to change.

2. understanding an individual’s own motivation. Identifying

individual reasons for behaviour change allows a practitioner

to understand a person’s own motivations and strengthen

statements that suggest an individual is ready, willing and

able to undertake behaviour change. MI refers to these

statements as ‘change talk’.

3. listen with empathy. Collaborative, empathic discussions

strengthen a person’s perception of their ability to change

behaviour.

4. empowering the client. A skilful practitioner should

empower the client to make changes.

o.a.r.SFour methods form the typical style of an MI consistent

conversation, namely:

The workplace offers significant potential to promote healthy lifestyles to the adult working population. In 2004, a £1.6 million British Heart Foundation led pilot programme, Well@Work, was announced to test out what impact workplace health programmes could have. This article highlights some of the findings from the final evaluation report Well@Work: Promoting active and healthy workplaces.

onlineonlinen Report - a copy of the final evaluation report http://tinyurl.com/6nt8r2n Website - Well@Work - http://tinyurl.com/58nvvtn Game - the BHF have produced a fun OfficeOlympics game if you want some work-relevant fun for a few minutes! http://www.bhf.org.uk/thinkfit/officeolympics/

workplace health well@work

The workplace offers significant potential to promote healthy lifestyles to the adult working population. In 2004, a £1.6 million British Heart Foundation led pilot programme, Well@Work, was announced to test out what impact workplace health programmes could have. This article highlights some of the findings from the final evaluation report Well@Work: Promoting active and healthy workplaces.

by Jackie cresswell

wHaT was iTWell@Work was a two year national workplace health initiative comprising nine regional projects encompassing 32 workplaces of different sizes and sectors.

aiMs aND ObJecTiVesThe aims were:n To assess the effectiveness of workplace health programmes in promoting the health and well being of employees in a diverse set of workplace environments n Develop an evidence base on what works in health promotion in the workplace in England.The objectives were to:n Conduct nine regional projects each implementing a healthy lifestyle programme with a core focus on physical activity, nutrition and smokingn Undertake a national evaluation n Identify factors and barriers associated with implementation, success and sustainability of workplace health programmes.

wHaT HaPPeNeDGenerally the workplace health programmes did have an impact on physical activity levels and participants upped their intake of fruit and vegetables. Physical activity and nutrition were the dominant project initiatives, physical activity accounted for 49% and nutrition for 19%.

cONclUsiONsThe evaluation team developed a set of conclusions based on their findings.

sTarTiNG OUTRealistic timescales are needed. At least 12 months is necessary as an initial start up phase for a workplace health programme. Expectations need to be realistic and acknowledge that planning, establishing employee engagement and developing management support (at all levels) can take longer than anticipated. The following will determine both the type of benefits and timescale required: n The scale of investmentn Type of programme and co-ordinationn Level of management supportn Employee engagement

An evaluation should be undertaken to assess the impact of the programme and demonstrate effectiveness.

esseNTial eleMeNTsProject co-ordinatorThe role of project co-ordinator was significant to the delivery and success of projects in the Well@Work

SETTInG UP AnD mAInTAInInG GooD CommUnICATIon THRoUGH

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a working solution

programme. The evaluation suggests the skill set required for a successful workplace health programme co-ordinator should not be limited to health knowledge or an ability to deliver project initiatives but should include management, planning, co-ordination and communication. Project success and sustainability was found to be less likely if co-ordination was left to employee volunteers to run and/or not provided with sufficient allocation of time and at least some resources.

workplace championsThe development of workplace champions is recommended to: n Help, plan and implement a workplace health programme n Encourage employee engagementn Deliver employee ownership.

Management supportmanagement support for both the programme itself and those involved in implementation (workplace champions, project co-ordinators) is essential. This support needs to be visible to employees and an advocate or sponsor within the organisation can be of great benefit.

eleMeNTs TO cONsiDerPhysical environmentA comprehensive workplace health programme needs to examine how it can change the physical environment at a workplace (eg. design, facilities, amenities) to support employees in making healthy lifestyle choices. Doing so demonstrates the commitment of an organisation to support employee health. It is a mid to long-term objective and requires significant management support.

Organisational policyAn organisational policy on supporting healthy lifestyles