Long-term health outcomes associated with an exercise referral scheme : an observational longitudinal follow-up study

Prior, F; Coffey, M; Robins, A; Cook, PA

Abstract

Background: Exercise referral schemes (ERSs) support inactive adults, who have chronic health conditions, to become physically active. Uncertainty exists regarding the effectiveness of ERSs, with few studies evaluating their long-term impact. The aims of this study were to evaluate the long-term impact (12 mo) of participation in an ERS on self-reported physical activity (PA) and a range of health-related outcomes.

Methods: Data were analyzed for participants of a 24-week ERS who attended a week 52 follow-up between July 2015 and 2017. PA and health-related outcomes collected at weeks 1, 24, and 52 were analyzed using the Friedman test and Wilcoxon signed-ranks test.

Results: A total of 273 participants attended the week 52 follow-up. Self-reported PA significantly increased by a median of 636 MET minutes at week 52. There were also significant improvements in body mass index, systolic blood pressure, mental well-being, and health-related quality of life.

Conclusions: For every 8 participants referred to this 24-week ERS, 1 participant went on to show long-term improvements in at least 1 health indicator. The evidence base requires further long-term evaluations to confirm these findings across a range of ERS providers. Changes in self-reported PA would be supported by the inclusion of device-based measurment of PA.

Citation

Prior, F., Coffey, M., Robins, A., & Cook, P. (2019). Long-term health outcomes associated with an exercise referral scheme : an observational longitudinal follow-up study. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 16(4), 288-293. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2018-0442

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 21, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Mar 21, 2019
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Apr 2, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 2, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Physical Activity and Health
• Print ISSN: 1543-3080
• Electronic ISSN: 1543-5474
• Publisher: Human Kinetics
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 288-293
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2018-0442
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2018-0442
• Related Public URLs: https://journals.humankinetics.com/journal/jpah
• Additional Information: Funders : Sport England;Tameside Metropolitan Borough Public Health