p u b l i c h e a l t h 1 2 7 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 1 4 3 e1 1 4 4
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Public Health journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/puhe
Letter to the Editor
An even more beautiful game
Editors, The reach of the football club badge offers a powerful way to connect people with health improvement opportunities. However, this influence varies according to level of club affiliation1, 2 and planners need to address this. For example, across 16 ‘top flight’ English clubs, almost one third of men attending Premier League Health (PLH) were not fans of the host club, while others were not even football fans. Still others were so committed to their team that they would not consider engaging interventions at any other club.2 Even though the host is football-centred, the potential audience of these programmes may not even like playing the game; a number of PLH health trainers understood this by offering diverse, and less physically intensive, activities. Flexible content will help satisfy diverse motives for engagement.2 The Creating Chances programme also illustrates this to good effect with a diverse range of programmes on offer3 by and in professional football clubs. It is also important to move beyond match-day recruitment to embrace the ‘hard-to-engage’ and groups who cannot attend games. While match day events will recruit people interested in watching football,2 careful thought will identify better times and places to recruit groups left unreached by this approach.4 5 Editors6 highlight that health improvement activities should also move beyond football to capitalize on other sport and leisure-based behaviours. The commentary about another recreational activity e arts on prescription e reminded us of experiences from a leisure-based scheme from two decades ago, exercise referral.7 The enthusiasm that supported these schemes is similar to that underpinning today’s football-based interventions. Yet, many went ‘live’ while under-developed.7 The rush left little time to consider the specific needs of participants or to in-build appropriate monitoring of effectiveness,7 leaving the potential of early schemes unconfirmed. As the ‘new signing’ on the today’s Public Health ‘team’, football e and sport-based e health improvement programmes need to anticipate these shortcomings from the outset. Seeking specialist advice to bespoke key elements of recruitment, retention and return into programmes, while in-building evaluation will all be important factors. Collectively they can achieve and help demonstrate the full Public Health potential of these programmes.
Author statements Ethical approval None sought.
Funding None declared.
Competing interests None declared.
references
1. Robertson S, Zwolinsky S, Pringle A, McKenna J, Daly-Smith A, White A. “It’s fun, fitness and football really”: a process evaluation of a football based health intervention for men. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise & Health. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2013.831372; 2013 (last accessed 9 September 2013). 2. White A, Zwolinsky S, Pringle A, McKenna J, Daly-Smith A, Robertson S, Berry R. Premier League Health: a national programme of men’s health promotion delivered in/by professional football clubs, final report. Centre for Men’s Health & Centre for Active Lifestyles, Leeds Metropolitan University; 2012. 3. Premier League. Premier League 2010/11: Season review, 2010. 4. Dunn K, Drust B, Richardson D. I just want to watch the match! A reflective account of men’s health themed match day events at an English Premier League football club. Journal of Men’s Health 2010;7(3):323. 5. Dunn K, Drust B, Flower D, Richardson D. Kicking the habit: a bio-psychosocial account of engaging men recovering from drug misuse in regular recreational football. Journal of Men’s Health 2011;8(3):233. 6. Johnman C, Mackie P, Sim F. Editorial: the beautiful game. Public Health 2013;127:697e8. 7. Biddle S, Fox K, Edmunds L. The promotion of physical activity by primary-care in England. London: Health Education Authority; 1994.
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p u b l i c h e a l t h 1 2 7 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 1 4 3 e1 1 4 4
A. Pringle* J. McKenna Research Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure, Leeds Metropolitan University, Headingley Campus, Leeds LS6 3QS, UK
*Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Pringle)
S. Zwolinsky Centre for Men’s Health, Faculty of Health, Leeds Metropolitan University, Queens Square House, Leeds LS1 3EE, UK
0033-3506/$ e see front matter ª 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2013.09.012
9 September 2013 Available online 22 November 2013
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Public Health journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/puhe
Letter to the Editor
An even more beautiful game
Editors, The reach of the football club badge offers a powerful way to connect people with health improvement opportunities. However, this influence varies according to level of club affiliation1, 2 and planners need to address this. For example, across 16 ‘top flight’ English clubs, almost one third of men attending Premier League Health (PLH) were not fans of the host club, while others were not even football fans. Still others were so committed to their team that they would not consider engaging interventions at any other club.2 Even though the host is football-centred, the potential audience of these programmes may not even like playing the game; a number of PLH health trainers understood this by offering diverse, and less physically intensive, activities. Flexible content will help satisfy diverse motives for engagement.2 The Creating Chances programme also illustrates this to good effect with a diverse range of programmes on offer3 by and in professional football clubs. It is also important to move beyond match-day recruitment to embrace the ‘hard-to-engage’ and groups who cannot attend games. While match day events will recruit people interested in watching football,2 careful thought will identify better times and places to recruit groups left unreached by this approach.4 5 Editors6 highlight that health improvement activities should also move beyond football to capitalize on other sport and leisure-based behaviours. The commentary about another recreational activity e arts on prescription e reminded us of experiences from a leisure-based scheme from two decades ago, exercise referral.7 The enthusiasm that supported these schemes is similar to that underpinning today’s football-based interventions. Yet, many went ‘live’ while under-developed.7 The rush left little time to consider the specific needs of participants or to in-build appropriate monitoring of effectiveness,7 leaving the potential of early schemes unconfirmed. As the ‘new signing’ on the today’s Public Health ‘team’, football e and sport-based e health improvement programmes need to anticipate these shortcomings from the outset. Seeking specialist advice to bespoke key elements of recruitment, retention and return into programmes, while in-building evaluation will all be important factors. Collectively they can achieve and help demonstrate the full Public Health potential of these programmes.
Author statements Ethical approval None sought.
Funding None declared.
Competing interests None declared.
references
1. Robertson S, Zwolinsky S, Pringle A, McKenna J, Daly-Smith A, White A. “It’s fun, fitness and football really”: a process evaluation of a football based health intervention for men. Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise & Health. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2013.831372; 2013 (last accessed 9 September 2013). 2. White A, Zwolinsky S, Pringle A, McKenna J, Daly-Smith A, Robertson S, Berry R. Premier League Health: a national programme of men’s health promotion delivered in/by professional football clubs, final report. Centre for Men’s Health & Centre for Active Lifestyles, Leeds Metropolitan University; 2012. 3. Premier League. Premier League 2010/11: Season review, 2010. 4. Dunn K, Drust B, Richardson D. I just want to watch the match! A reflective account of men’s health themed match day events at an English Premier League football club. Journal of Men’s Health 2010;7(3):323. 5. Dunn K, Drust B, Flower D, Richardson D. Kicking the habit: a bio-psychosocial account of engaging men recovering from drug misuse in regular recreational football. Journal of Men’s Health 2011;8(3):233. 6. Johnman C, Mackie P, Sim F. Editorial: the beautiful game. Public Health 2013;127:697e8. 7. Biddle S, Fox K, Edmunds L. The promotion of physical activity by primary-care in England. London: Health Education Authority; 1994.
1144
p u b l i c h e a l t h 1 2 7 ( 2 0 1 3 ) 1 1 4 3 e1 1 4 4
A. Pringle* J. McKenna Research Institute for Sport, Physical Activity and Leisure, Leeds Metropolitan University, Headingley Campus, Leeds LS6 3QS, UK
*Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Pringle)
S. Zwolinsky Centre for Men’s Health, Faculty of Health, Leeds Metropolitan University, Queens Square House, Leeds LS1 3EE, UK
0033-3506/$ e see front matter ª 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2013.09.012
9 September 2013 Available online 22 November 2013
