Improving men’s health and weight loss outcomes with the NHS and Notts County Football Club.
The setting
Motivate was a men’s health and weight loss programme for obese men over the age of 55, funded by what was formally Nottingham City NHS Trust, and delivered by Notts County Football Club. The programme was designed to encourage weight loss – for typically disengaged demographics – by supporting participants with advice and practical tools to improve both physical and mental health. More broadly though, Motivate aimed to generate awareness and promote open discussions of men’s health issues among this age group.
The task
I was tasked with evaluating the classes run by Notts County Football Club to see how and where we could improve the sessions. In addition, I was to extrapolate useful findings and practices that could be applied to, or adapted for other programmes to broaden their success rates and reach.
I spent time getting to know men who were taking part in fitness classes specifically designed to help them lose weight and improve their overall health. During this process I discovered many ways to make the classes more enjoyable and effective for participants, but perhaps more interestingly, I also came upon the men’s reasons for thinking about their health to begin with. At times this involved deeply emotional and personal discussions about families, life and death, physical immobility and mental health – discussions I wouldn’t have been able to have without visiting the relevant environments, at the right times, to speak with these men in person.
Collecting this sort of data is an involved process, which often requires the researcher to open up and give something of themselves during the interviews to create a safe space where participants feel comfortable to share their personal insights.
The result
Rather than produce a simple retelling of the tired ‘older men aren’t concerned about their health’ narrative, I was able to explore a variety of complex and nuanced experiences that went on to inform future policy and practice.
Working with Nottingham City NHS Trust also heightened my sense of importance for providing value for money research. I was acutely aware that in using the public’s money to fund this project, the NHS was seeking to save money long-term by improving health outcomes for the nation. As a result, I’m conscious of the economic imperatives that underpin research, which is why I strive to ensure value for money is a central asset of my working practice.