PROVING THE GOOD WE DO

While Physical Activity Referral Schemes (PARS) are doing great things, many simply aren’t using the reams of data now being collected to inform their services or highlight the good they do. With news that NHS England is to be abolished, funding for PARS is almost certain to change, meaning data collection and analysis will become even more crucial. Here, three industry-leading experts share how they believe quality data will contribute to the positive future of PARS.

Stuart Stokes, managing director, ReferAll

The funding story for PARS is set to change beyond recognition. As yet, we have no idea what will become of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) following the abolition of NHS England. Until we do, it’s impossible to gauge whose doors we’re best knocking on for future funding. What I do know is the data PARS are meticulously collecting, cataloguing the success of their services, will become ever more important. While we await clarification on what the funding landscape will look like, now is the time to analyse outcome data to inform future service. We’ve talked about proving the good we do to access funding for years, but outcome data isn’t just a funding tool – operators can use it to create efficiencies and adapt and improve services.

With funding uncertain, outcome data is key to proving value, driving efficiencies and targeting the right audiences

“Outcome data can reveal if your services are truly accessible to all. What’s your penetration like in deprived areas? Are your referrals increasing but turnout remains static? Data can reveal why. Perhaps your activities take place at 10am, when most referrals can’t make it. We should also be using data to better inform marketing and target the people we specifically want to attract, not the 15% who already come through our doors. The industry has pivoted to health, in fact it’s become an industry buzzword, but our marketing hasn’t.

“The answers are all there, but often our sector is so focused on the doing, it needs help with the analysing. That’s where ReferAll comes in. Our starting point was helping people to easily, accurately collect data. Now they have it, we’re invested in teaching operators to analyse it for improvement and change. That analysis will lead to small, granular improvements and greater efficiencies, which will mean, when the time comes, operators can prove beyond doubt that PARS are worth investing in.”

PEOPLE

John Oxley, CEO, Life Leisure

For me, good data is about proving the effectiveness of physical activity as a health intervention; funding is secondary. Health is broader than the NHS and our sector must prove we are a valued contributor to the wider integrated care system, using physical activity to improve population health and address inequalities.

Good data is about proving the effectiveness of physical activity as a health intervention

“State of Life supported us in conducting an evaluative study across eight of Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs, to better understand the impact of PARS on health and wellbeing and the resulting social and economic value. Early findings, revealed in May, show participants’ life satisfaction and happiness improved overall – by 1.32 points and 1.11 points respectively on the 0-10 WELLBY scale*. Health and mental wellbeing also improved, while anxiety and loneliness decreased. The economic value of this increase is estimated to be more than £20,000 per person. The challenge now is to take this learning and determine how we deliver these results consistently and at scale throughout the UK in order to evidence that we can work more effectively with health care providers.

“NICE guidelines have remained unchanged for years, stating that ‘NICE is unable to differentiate between the effectiveness or cost effectiveness of different types of scheme because there is little evidence of effectiveness’. We need to heed those comments and use the State of Life’s insights to develop a set of national standards and scale a consistent nationwide approach, thereby delivering even more compelling results. A great challenge for the sector is to use these results to demonstrate the effect we have is meaningful and guidance should be altered to encourage health care partners to utilise physical activity as a health intervention. Only this will ensure active wellbeing becomes integral to the wider integrated care system.”

* WELLBY (Wellbeing-adjusted Life Year) is defined as a change in life satisfaction of 1 point on a scale of 0-10, affecting one person for one year. 1 WELLBY is given a value of £17,000. If we assume a life satisfaction impact of 1.32 points persists for a year, we can multiply this number by £17,000 to estimate the monetary value of the wellbeing impact – £22,000 per person, per year.

Jim Rollo, Head of Health and Wellbeing, Circadian Trust

For me, the real value of PARS data is in chronicling the benefits to health to prove we’re reaching deprived areas, tackling inequalities and contributing to a reduction in GP visits, as well as to inform how we move forward as an organisation. We know all of this anecdotally; proving it is the holy grail. What we can measure we can manage.

“We use our data to inform decisions on what PARS sessions we put on, where and when, and to ensure we’re making profits we can reinvest in our services. But the challenge is we’re not data analysts and increasingly the sector expects us to be. Working to get people active and improve health, inspiring communities to move more, that’s where we excel.

“Our solution was to share our data with business analysts at Bristol University. Early findings show people who come to us via our health-related programmes stay considerably longer as a member (up to 10 months), elongating the health benefits to them while also driving revenue to allow us to do more good work. Older members are very consistent – once they start seeing benefits, they’re not only members for life but our biggest advocates. We knew this anecdotally; now we can prove it.

PARS data lets us prove health impact, optimise sessions and reinvest profits to advance community wellbeing

“Now we’re working towards integrating our XN Leisure management software with ReferAll and the Technogym ecosystem, so we can evidence everything from where our referrals come from and how long they stay, to what biometric improvements they make. This type of data intelligence is crucial for informing future business models and how we’ll fund our PARS and affordable community hubs so we keep moving forwards.”