parkrun and the promotion of physical activity: insights for primary care clinicians from an online survey

Haake, Steve; Quirk, Helen; Bullas, Alice

doi:10.3399/bjgp.2022.0001

Cited by 7 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The quick answer is -it depends where you look. 13 Those at the front were very different to those at the middle or the back. The front was dominated by skinny young males, keen to win and focused on competition; very few had health conditions.…”

Section: Why People Get Active and Stay Activementioning

confidence: 95%

Actively tackling inactivity

Haake¹,

Tobin²

2022

Br J Gen Pract

Self Cite

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Environments in the UK have been designed to make our lives physically easier: cars, trains, lifts, washing machines -even the humble remote control. It's no surprise then that around 4 out of 10 of us are inactive. 1 While many people may know that physical activity is good for them, they struggle to do any. And, while the phrase '5-a-day' for the consumption of fruit and veg is well known, there's no equivalent for physical activity. Perhaps that's why only between 8% and 18% of people in the UK were able to recall that the Chief Medical Officers' guidance is at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. [2][3][4] GPs faired marginally better: just 20% could recall the guidance. 5 The consequences of inactivity in our population are well known: high levels of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and poor mental health. These are self-evident from Fingertips, the public health statistics gateway for general practices in England. Consider, for instance, the under 75 mortality rate from preventable cardiovascular diseases. According to Fingertips, if we look at towns across the country, the mortality rate correlates linearly with inactivity with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.67 (moderately strong). 6 If inactivity increases in a town, so do preventable deaths. Given all the other determinants of health -alcohol, diet, drugs, access to health care, education, employment, environment, and poverty (and so on) -this is quite remarkable.As you might expect from this, healthy life expectancy (HLE) also correlates with levels of inactivity. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that HLE for males in the UK is just 62.8 years 7 -less time than the Queen has been on the throne. Shockingly, only four towns have a HLE at birth for males of ≥70 years: Richmond upon Thames, Rutland, Wokingham, and, of course, Windsor. Notably, they all have activity levels of at least 68% and inactivity levels <21%.

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Section: Why People Get Active and Stay Activementioning

confidence: 95%

Actively tackling inactivity

Haake¹,

Tobin²

2022

Br J Gen Pract

Self Cite

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“…highlighted competing demands between leisure‐time activities and PA. Issues such as socialising were identified as preventing time for PA, but many of these barriers are not mutually exclusive. Repeatedly the literature cites a lack of support for PA as a barrier, whilst having supporting family and friends is seen as one of the biggest enablers of PA 13,18,22,30,42,68,69,71,72,74,75,77,78,81,85–87,89,93–95 . Creating a culture of PA, addressing leisure‐time, commuting and occupational (where possible) PA could have a hugely beneficial effect at removing barriers to PA uptake.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Creating a culture of PA, addressing leisure‐time, commuting and occupational (where possible) PA could have a hugely beneficial effect at removing barriers to PA uptake. Parkrun (a community‐based running initiative) has played a role in shaping PA culture throughout the United Kingdom (and beyond) since its inception in 2008 86 . The introduction of GP parkrun‐affiliated practices in 2018, with over 1500 now registered, has given a platform for GPs to promote PA and has demonstrated the role primary care can play in shaping PA culture in communities throughout the United Kingdom 96 …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Three of the most frequently identified barriers to taking up PA that are faced by individual patients are the perceived nature of their underlying health condition, 13,26,53,[68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79] patients' knowledge and understanding of the benefits of PA 13,18,22,26,30,42,53,[68][69][70][71][72]76,77,[80][81][82][83][84][85][86] and patients' time/capacity. 13,18,22,26,30,42,53,68,[70][71][72]75,76,81,…”

Section: Individual Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Repeatedly the literature cites a lack of support for PA as a barrier, whilst having supporting family and friends is seen as one of the biggest enablers of PA. 13,18,22,30,42,68,69,71,72,74,75,77,78,81,[85][86][87]89,[93][94][95] Creating a culture of PA, addressing leisure-time, commuting and occupational (where possible) PA could have a hugely beneficial effect at removing barriers to PA uptake. Parkrun (a community-based running initiative)…”

Section: Societal Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Narrative review – Barriers and facilitators to promotion of physical activity in primary care

2023

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The objective to provide an overview of the literature on the barriers and facilitators to physical activity (PA) promotion in primary care, as experienced by practitioners and patients. Method A search strategy of the English‐language literature was conducted in EMBASE, MEDLINE and the COCHRANE LIBRARY. Search terms were primary care OR general practice OR family medicine OR family practitioner AND physical activity OR exercise AND barriers OR facilitators. Databases were searched from inception until 21 October 2022. Results After screening, 63 articles were included within the summary and content analysis of this review. Analysis of the barriers to the implementation of PA highlighted four main themes perceived by practitioners: time, knowledge/skills, resources/support and financial implications. Analysis of the patient perspective identified themes which were categorised into individual (pre‐existing health conditions, knowledge of benefits of PA, time/capacity), societal (social support and cultural norms) and environmental (availability of facilities and weather). Conclusions As the importance of PA increases through the manifestation of sedentary behaviour‐related disease, a combined primary care and public health approach to increase PA is required. By identifying the main barriers to PA promotion in primary care, resources and funding can be directed to address this. This is particularly relevant in the United Kingdom, with the re‐negotiation of the primary care contract and the changes to healthcare delivery as a consequence of the Covid‐19 pandemic. Throughout this review, we have explored ways of addressing the identified barriers through evidence‐based interventions.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has increased health inequalities by altering patterns of engagement with a mass participation event after resumption post-lockdown

Gilburn

2023

Preprint

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The global epidemic in physical inactivity has been exacerbated by lockdowns with concerning health inequalities accentuated as a result. Studies are needed of post-lockdown levels of activity to determine if there are lasting impacts beyond lockdown. This study uses parkrun in Scotland as a model system to address this urgent question. Generalised linear mixed models were used to identify patterns in the attendance, gender, age and performance of 500,000+ parkrun participations in Scotland for the year before the pandemic and the first year after lockdown. Total weekly attendance in Scotland had been increasing year-on-year but fell by 13% from 7,649 (95% CI 7,275 to 8.024) in the final-year pre-lockdown to 6,612 (95% CI 6,260 to 6,963) in the first-year post-lockdown. Attendance drops were disproportionately larger at events with larger attendances prior to lockdown. There was a disproportionate loss of female participants in more deprived areas. The gender gap in participation had been narrowing before lockdown but widened from 54.02% (95% CI 53.85 to 54.19%) in the final-year pre-lockdown to 56.29% male (95% CI 56.09 to 56.49%) in the first-year post-lockdown. The age of participants increased from 44.94 (95% CI 44.90 to 44.98) before lockdown to 46.58 (95% CI 46.53 to 46.64) after lockdown. The age gap between the genders widened after lockdown particularly at larger events and in more deprived areas. Performance was declining before lockdown but increased from 55.02% (95% CI 54.96 to 55.06%) to 55.93% (95% CI 55.88 to 55.97%) after lockdown. The pandemic has reduced attendance at parkrun in Scotland and the loss of participants has been non-random increasing health inequalities affecting women, the least fit and those in deprived areas. Some former participants are also now avoiding larger mass participation events. Investment and management strategies will be needed to address these worsening inequalities.

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parkrun and the promotion of physical activity: insights for primary care clinicians from an online survey

Cited by 7 publications

References 21 publications

Actively tackling inactivity

Actively tackling inactivity

Narrative review – Barriers and facilitators to promotion of physical activity in primary care

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased health inequalities by altering patterns of engagement with a mass participation event after resumption post-lockdown

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