Survey shows increased life satisfaction for people taking part in GP exercise referrals




A significant increase in life satisfaction for people participating in GP exercise referrals has been emphasised in a survey we have commissioned across Greater Manchester.

It shows the mean scores for patients taking part were 1.9 points better than for those on a waiting list, using a scale of 1-10. By comparison, previous studies of changes in life satisfaction have found that moving from unemployment to finding work leads to an average 0.5 point increase.

The survey has been commissioned by GM Active, a collective of 12 leisure and community organisations representing all 10 local authorities in Greater Manchester, and conducted by State of Life, which works with its clients and economists on how to measure and report on the socio-economic value of physical activity. Using a tried a tested methodology recommended by the Treasury, State of Life has pioneered the creation of Wellby scores for people such as Sport England, parkrun, Youth Sport Trust and Ofcom.

The GM Active survey of more than 1,700 people either on a waiting list for a GP referral or taking part in a programme, also shows significantly improved scores for happiness, anxiety, loneliness and feeling worthwhile. 

















State of Life founder, Will Watt, says: “These results are what we call first findings and although there is similar work going on elsewhere, they’re significant because you’ve got a former health minister and Treasury secretary, Andy Burnham, as mayor, and integrated health authorities. This puts Greater Manchester ahead of the game in evidencing the worth of physical activity, and that could influence national guidance.

“What’s more, we’ve carried out what’s known as regression analysis. This means we’ve taken into account factors such as age, health, disability, socioeconomics, and employment status to give us more confidence that any positive difference we see in the scores is actually due to participation and not anything else.”

A repeat data collection is now underway until the end of January – described as creating ‘gold standard data’ – after which the findings will be broken down borough by borough and fed back to GM Active, whose strategy is focused on addressing physical inactivity and improving population health and wellbeing throughout Greater Manchester.



Andy King, GM Active Chair, says: “Will and his team at State of Life are doing a fabulous job, so a big thank you to them. The early results are really encouraging as they help demonstrate the positive impact the referral schemes are having on participants, and this helps us to evidence the impact they are having across Greater Manchester.

“This piece of work along with others such as UK Active with its MSK hubs and the collaboration with six ICBs; the Active Partnership’s ongoing work on health pathways with Move Consulting, and the great work Dr Coral Hanson is leading on in Scotland with the Physical Activity Referral Standards, will contribute to the evidence base that our sector can contribute to the government’s  transformation of health care; treatment to prevention, hospital to community and analogue to digital. There’s still a lot to be done, but this is a significant step forward.”





























The following State of Life questions produced these Wellby scores:

 

Overall, how satisfied are you with your life nowadays?

Participants 6.7, waiting listers 4.2.

 

Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?

Participants 6.98, waiting listers 5.29.

 

Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?

Participants 3.67, waiting listers 4.65.

 

Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?

Participants 7.28, waiting listers 5.62.

 

Multiple choice answers to the question: ‘How often do you feel lonely?’ showed a decreasing trend among participants and an increase among waiting listers.





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