School of Health & Wellbeing, Plymouth Marjon University, Plymouth PL6 8BH, UK.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.
J Public Health (Oxf). 2024 Aug 25;46(3):e477-e482. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdae057.
Exercise Referral Schemes (ERS) are designed so health professionals can refer certain patients to a supervised programme of physical activity. However, evaluations have questioned the effectiveness of these schemes/programmes. The aim of this study was to systematically review the provision of ERS in England and analyse related promotional material.
Content analysis methods were used to analyse scheme websites and promotional material. A coding scheme was used to analyse the data, which included information on the programme's aims, inclusion criteria, type of activities, accessibility and cost.
The study identified 625 sites offering ERS across 168 geographic areas. Findings highlighted a lack of clarity in what constitutes a scheme. Over a third of schemes did not explicitly state their aims, but of those that did, the focus was mainly on notions of physical and mental health benefits.
This study is the first to review the scope and offer of ERS in the UK by examining promotional material and highlights issues around the stated aims of ERS. More clarity on aims is needed in the material that promotes the schemes and most likely within the schemes themselves. Such improvements could make a difference when considering engagement with delivery stakeholders and potential participants.
运动推荐计划（ERS）旨在让健康专业人员能够将某些患者转介到有监督的体育活动计划中。然而，评估对这些计划/方案的有效性提出了质疑。本研究的目的是系统地回顾英格兰ERS 的提供情况，并分析相关的推广材料。
采用内容分析法对计划网站和推广材料进行分析。使用编码方案对数据进行分析，其中包括计划目标、纳入标准、活动类型、可及性和成本等信息。
该研究在 168 个地理区域确定了 625 个提供 ERS 的网站。研究结果表明，什么构成计划缺乏明确性。三分之一以上的计划没有明确说明其目的，但其中那些明确表示目的的计划主要侧重于身体和心理健康益处的概念。
本研究首次通过检查推广材料，审查了英国ERS 的范围和提供情况，并强调了ERS 既定目标方面的问题。在宣传计划中，以及更有可能在计划本身中，都需要更明确的目标说明。这种改进在考虑与交付利益相关者和潜在参与者的参与时可能会有所不同。
