Leese Callum, Smith Blair H, Cross Rosina, Cockcroft Emma J, Higgins Cassie
Department of Population Health and Genomics, University of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital, James Arnott Drive, Dundee, DD2 4BF, UK.
Department of Health and Community Sciences, University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Apr 9;25(1):1326. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22447-3.
Physical inactivity is a leading cause of premature mortality and morbidity worldwide. Primary care settings provide an opportunity for effective lifestyle interventions, including physical activity (PA) promotion. This study aims to evaluate the impact of a rural community-based multi-component, 12-week exercise, nutrition, education and peer-support programme on participants health and wellbeing.
This retrospective service evaluation included patients referred to the programme between January 2020 and December 2022 from primary care settings. Quantitative data (including body composition measures, mental wellbeing and patient activation) were collected at the entry and exit of the 12-week program. Participants also self-reported healthcare attendance in the 3 months prior to the baseline and post-intervention data-collection.
Of the 424 people who participated in the programme, 84.7% (n = 359) indicated that they had achieved their goals. Significant improvements in BMI, weight, blood pressure, wellbeing, patient activation, muscle mass, body-fat mass and reduced healthcare attendance over a 12-week intervention were identified by repeated measure ANOVA. Post-hoc tests with a Bonferroni correction found that younger participants were significantly more likely to decrease their BMI and increase their mental wellbeing (as measured by WEMWBS) over the course of the programme. Higher attendance at the programme was also associated with greater reductions in BMI and greater improvements in patient activation.
The findings support the effectiveness of multicomponent community-based exercise, nutrition, education and peer support interventions in improving health outcomes and reducing healthcare utilisation. Further research is needed to evaluate the long-term health outcomes of the education-exercise referral programme, across settings, and its potential to contribute to a sustainable healthcare system.
缺乏身体活动是全球过早死亡和发病的主要原因。基层医疗环境为有效的生活方式干预提供了机会，包括促进身体活动（PA）。本研究旨在评估一项基于农村社区的多成分、为期12周的运动、营养、教育和同伴支持计划对参与者健康和幸福的影响。
这项回顾性服务评估纳入了2020年1月至2022年12月期间从基层医疗环境转诊至该计划的患者。在为期12周的计划开始和结束时收集定量数据（包括身体成分测量、心理健康和患者积极性）。参与者还自我报告了在基线和干预后数据收集前3个月的医疗就诊情况。
在参与该计划的424人中，84.7%（n = 359）表示他们实现了目标。通过重复测量方差分析发现，在为期12周的干预中，体重指数（BMI）、体重、血压、幸福感、患者积极性、肌肉量、体脂肪量有显著改善，且医疗就诊次数减少。采用Bonferroni校正的事后检验发现，在该计划过程中，年轻参与者更有可能降低其BMI并提高其心理健康水平（通过WEMWBS测量）。更高的计划参与度也与更大程度的BMI降低和患者积极性的更大改善相关。
研究结果支持基于社区的多成分运动、营养、教育和同伴支持干预在改善健康结果和减少医疗利用方面的有效性。需要进一步研究来评估教育 - 运动转诊计划在不同环境下的长期健康结果，及其对可持续医疗系统的潜在贡献。
