Evaluation of Leicester Get Healthy Get into Sport

The Leicester Get Healthy Get into Sport project successfully increased its participants’ physical activity levels and for some participants, led to wider lifestyle changes to improve health and wellbeing, according to the final evaluation report by our research and evaluation team.

The project, based in two areas in Leicestershire (New Parks and Greenhill) with high levels of physical inactivity, offered a tailored intervention, which included support from a mentor, a free six-month leisure pass and ongoing opportunities to take part in activities in the local community. Our evaluation of the project aimed to assess the extent to which community engagement is effective at engaging inactive participants in sport and physical activity. This final report provides a final summary of the evaluation, learning from the project and recommendations for the future.

Get Healthy Get into Sport
The Leicester Get Healthy Get into Sport project was a community-based intervention that aimed to engage inactive adults in sport and physical activity. Participants were recruited from local communities using a variety of methods. During the programme, participants took part in up to six one-to-one sessions with a trained mentor. At the first session, participants discussed their barriers and challenges to being active, set goals and took part in a range of activities. The mentor supported the participants to take part in these activities during the following sessions. Participants were given a 6-month leisure pass for their local leisure centre, enabling them to engage in free activities for the first 6 months of their participation and then at a reduced rate for a further six months. In conjunction with this a community-based programme of activities was offered to support ongoing participation in sport and physical activity.

Key findings:

• The project recruited 533 participants with an average age of 38.
• Word of mouth was the most successful method of recruiting participants.
• Just over half of participants met the physical activity guidelines, however most of this activity was due to participants holding jobs involving manual, physical work. Leisure time physical activity levels were very low with only 11.5% of participants in New Parks and 2.1% of participants in Greenhill participating in at least one thirty minute session of sport per week.
• Significant increases in moderate and vigorous physical activity were observed three and six months into the programme but not after twelve months.
• Nine out of ten participants rated their mentor sessions as excellent or good, with over half of people stating that they would have not engaged in activity without the sessions.
• Going to the gym was the most popular activity. Participants tended to attend activities that their mentor introduced them to.
• 27 community champions were recruited and went on to complete a range of training courses including: community sport leader awards, motivational interviewing and first aid.
• There were concerns regarding the sustainability of the project once the free provision ended because financial constraints remain a significant barrier for the target audience.

Key recommendations:

• Allow a minimum of six months lead in time before project launch to build relationships between project partners, engage with and identify the needs and wants of the local community.
• Support partnership working by ensuring processes and procedures are clearly established and documented early in the project.
• Monitor participation and use of the free leisure pass and consider introducing some check points at which the free pass may be extended or terminated.
• Develop a strategy to re-engage drop-outs when they first disengage with the programme.
• When planning a project, ensure there is a clear sustainability and exit strategy to support participants to continue to be active.

The mixed-methods evaluation was conducted in accordance with the Standard Evaluation Framework for Physical Activity Interventions. Data was collected by participant surveys, one to one session records, attendance registers and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, project partners and participants.

For further information, please contact:
Emma Adams (Principal Investigator) [email protected] 

DOWNLOAD: Leicester-Shire Get Healthy Get into Sport Final Evaluation Report