Community sport

Active Blues (AB), a community-based programme that would support inactive men aged 35-50-years-old to become physically active at least once per week through participation in sport. Delivered by Everton in the Community (EitC) (the official charity of Everton Football Club), AB was based in four electoral wards throughout North Liverpool, which were among the most deprived in England, and enable these types of men to adopt healthier lifestyles and reduce health inequalities that lead to type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal conditions, obesity, isolation and loneliness, poor mental health and cardiovascular disease (EitC, 2018). The focus of this project is specifically on what can be learned about the increasing alignment of the sport and health policy sectors, how this impacts upon the ability of government to achieve its sport and related public health policy goals, and how this shapes people’s experiences of the AB community-based sport and health programme.

This PhD research project is titled Evaluating British Cycling’s Places to Ride Programme. The evaluation will provide the first in-depth longitudinal study of the impact that a place-based capital investment with British Cycling, in partnership with Sport England and DCMS, can have on tackling inequalities in cycling participation across a diverse range of localities and population groups. It is intended to generate new insights on how different types of traffic-free cycling facilities can engage new audiences in cycling, and the wider health and social outcomes of doing so. The evaluation explores the programme theories within and across individual projects to develop new knowledge about the programme mechanisms, contexts and outcomes that can then be used to inform the design, development, and implementation of future place-based investment processes. The evaluation is also intended to inform future policy and commissioning decisions regarding the potential of events to increase future participation.

The research project will analyse place-based approaches to mental health and wellbeing through Everton in the Community’s PP from conception to delivery. The research will consist of two phases, firstly engaging EitC staff, stakeholders, and existing and potential participants to uncover the needs of the community. Secondly, the research will evaluate the success of the PP in achieving the formal aims and objectives informed by the initial phase. This project is designed in response to calls for increased civic engagement in community mental health and wellbeing settings and aims to generate greater understanding about what is needed for place-based approaches to succeed in areas of high socio-economic deprivation. It will also develop new knowledge about the mechanisms and processes involved in the design of purpose-built community wellbeing hubs.

The project included screening events and a lifestyle programme which comprised of weekly education and physical activity sessions focused on preventing and managing T2D. SFT was provided as an alternative to patients who had not engaged with the National Diabetes Prevention Programme ‘Healthier You’, and so adopted a hybrid model of delivery which involved six weeks of small group sessions and a further six weeks of individual telephone appointments. The programme adopted a holistic approach to supporting patients’ management of their blood sugar levels through different aspects of the programme specifically designed to address patients physical (for example, walks, chair-based exercise etc.), social (for example, group sessions informed by patients’ lived experiences) and mental health (for example, education sessions focused on sleep hygiene, stress and mental health literacy). This design and delivery of the programme, alongside the impact and insight that could be gained from researching SFT, was the focus of the research conducted with the programme staff and participants.