Physical Activity Consultant (PAC)
| Description | A local consultant educates, motivates and supports residents in leading a more physically active and healthy lifestyle |
|---|---|
| Setting | Community centres, leisure and sports centres, schools, residential homes and clients’ homes |
| Populationting | The physically inactive or those who need to improve their physical health or mental wellbeing. |
| Intervention summary | Several interventions including one to one consultations and regular monitoring to encourage physical activity, workshops and weekly specialist classes. |
| Outcome Summary | Weight loss and increased activity |
| Startup Cost | 1 x physical activity consultant (PAC): £25 000 Recruitment: £1000 Mileage: £1500 Administration, marketing, mobile phone, etc: £5 000 Total per annum: £32 500 Capital equipment including IT: £4000 |
| Running Cost | Ready 4 Anything Equipment cost per centre: £1200. 2 x instructors per session: £32 over 26 weeks = £832. Promotion: £600 Total: £2632 Second 2 None Equipment cost per centre: £400. 1 x instructor per session: £16 per week x 52 weeks = £832. Promotion: £600 Total: £1832 Running costs vary depending on the number of PACs and hours they work. |
| Funding | The PAC project receives £10 000 funding from North Warwickshire Primary Care Trust annually. All other costs are now met by Nuneaton and Bedworth Leisure Trust. |
| Started | The PAC project initially began in April 2002 as a 12 month pilot scheme with several part time and casual employees. |
| Ended | Ongoing |
| Location | Nuneaton and Bedworth, England |
| Contact |
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Background
The Physical Activity Consultant (PAC) project is a local consultant whose role is to educate, motivate and support residents in leading a more physically active and healthy lifestyle. The PAC project has long encouraged the principle of empowering individuals to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing.
What is the problem you are trying to solve?
The main aim of the PAC role is to positively raise the awareness of the benefits of exercise through the promotion of physical activity across the borough, with particular emphasis within the socially deprived wards in Nuneaton and Bedworth.
What local organisations are involved?
The project is managed by the Nuneaton and Bedworth Leisure Trust (NBLT) who work in partnership with the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, the local Warwickshire Primary Care Trust (PCT), Nuneaton and Bedworth Healthy Living Network, Warwickshire Specialist Health Promotion Service and other local organisations and community groups.
How many people are running this project and who are they?
A full time position of PAC is employed to deliver the project on a daily basis and is based at the Bedworth Leisure Centre.
What local population are you targeting?
Initially the PAC project targeted the most health deprived wards of Nuneaton and Bedworth, specifically those that are physically inactive or need to improve their physical health or mental wellbeing. However, as needs developed, the use of PAC has spread more widely and now covers the entire borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth.
How many people are you targeting?
The project aimed to engage with 350 people aged under 50, and 400 people aged over 50 per annum. However, since 2002 it has achieved an even greater impact, having successfully made contact with 6319 clients. Three thousand nine hundred and twenty contacts were made with clients aged under 50 (compared with the original four year target of 1400) and 2399 with clients aged over 50 (compared with the original four year target of 1600).
Interventions
What interventions are you using to address the problem?
The Physical Activity Consultant performs one to one consultations in which the clients are introduced to the health benefits of exercise. By showing them what options are available in their local area, they are encouraged to take the lead on how they could become more active. The individuals are regularly monitored over time to facilitate sustained behaviour change.
The PAC project has also introduced new "mini projects", such as children’s activity sessions with a fun and interactive health education component. Examples include:
Ready 4 Anything (7-11 year olds):
This is a fun health games and activities session implemented by the PAC and commenced in May 2006. This session is open to all 7-11 year olds and is based at Bedworth Healthy Living Centre. Professionals, including dieticians and school nurses, have adopted this scheme as part of their "Children’s Obesity Care Pathway". New referrals and participants attend each week, with an average class size of 15 children. A course has been organised to train a further nine members of the Leisure Trust to deliver these sessions at a further two leisure sites, Pingles Leisure Centre and Jubilee Sports Centre.
Second 2 None (14-18 year olds)
This is a gym based exercise class. This session is open to anyone within the community aged 14 to 18 years. Referrals onto the scheme are received from professionals including Connexions, Youth Offending Team, Youth Inclusion, physiotherapists, dieticians and school nurses. Since linking with the extended schools coordinators, attendances have doubled and new young people join each week. As well as the Jubilee Sports Centre session, the possibility of expanding this service to run over the weekend at Bedworth Healthy Living Centre is being investigated.
Is the project design based on evidence? If so, please state reference.
Information is based on trends from the 1991 and 2001 censuses, 1996-based population projections, and Warwickshire County Council’s Quality of life in Warwickshire publications.
Outcome
What outcomes or planned outcomes are you measuring?
The client’s fat percentage, weight, BMI, hydration levels, blood pollution, lung size and efficiency, physical strength, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate are all measured at initial and follow-up consultations.
Do you have any outcomes or results yet? If so, what are they?
A statistical analysis of 100 PAC clients showed that 69% either maintained or lost weight between their initial and follow-up health check. A decrease in systolic blood pressure was experienced by 57% of clients, and 65% found their diastolic blood pressure decreased. Just over half the clients (55%) reduced their resting heart rate, and a slightly higher percentage (58%) increased their peak flow. These are surely clear improvements in health!
Is your project relevant to a government target or guideline?
Yes, it is relevant to Public Service Agreement 1: To enhance the take-up of sporting opportunities by 5-16 year olds so that the percentage of school children who spend a minimum of two hours each week on high-quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum from 25% in 2002 to 75% by 2006 and 85% by 2008 1 .
Feedback
What obstacles did you have to overcome to set up this project?
The main challenges that the PAC project faced was financial insecurity. Each year the PAC position on funding was not secure and an application to the North Warwickshire PCT had to be made for £10 000. This funding did not cover the total cost of salaries, expenses, mileage and training, which were all met by NBLT. This lack of funding made employees feel insecure in their position and in the first few years of the project many left to take up more stable appointments elsewhere.
What have you learned about the project so far?
Projects of this type need to be funded via central government to ensure best practise and sustainability.
What would you do differently?
Consultants would be given full time positions with individual specific remits.