Effect of a national programme of men's health delivered in English Premier League football clubs

Objectives: To investigate the impact of a national programme of men's health delivered in/by English Premier League (EPL) football clubs on health profiles. Study design: Health promotion interventions were delivered to male supporters with heightened health risks, and hard-to-engage men who were not using primary care and health information services. Interventions included educational activities on match days and weekly lifestyle classes at the football stadia/training venues. Activities were led by the health trainers in 16 EPL football clubs. Methods: Pre- and post-intervention, men completed validated self-report measures for demographics and health behaviours. Intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis was performed alongside a standard per-protocol (PP) analysis based on pre- vs post-intervention differences over 3 months. Descriptive statistics were used to show demographics pre-intervention and changes in the health profiles of participants. Results: Predominantly, recruits were White British men aged 18-44 years. Most men (78%, 909/1159) did not see themselves as having health problems. Around 35% (364/1044) never consulted a general practitioner (GP), while 57% (591/1040) reported that they never used health advice services. In men providing pre-intervention responses, the proportions who failed to meet the recommendations for healthy behaviours were as follows: physical activity, 85% (1106/1301); sitting time, 68% (623/907); consumption of fruit/vegetables, 88% (948/1072); smoking, 33% (422/1262); alcohol consumption, 30% (203/679); and body mass index (BMI), 63.8% (570/893). ITT and PP analyses demonstrated the significant increases in weekly physical activity (P < 0.001) and daily consumption of fruit and vegetables (P < 0.001), and significant decreases in daily sitting time (P < 0.001), weekly alcohol consumption (P < 0.001) and BMI (P < 0.05). Conclusion: A national programme of men's health delivered in EPL football clubs reached men failing to meet health guidelines. Interventions engaged men who neither consulted a GP nor used health information services. Positive changes were found for an array of activity-related and other health behaviours on PP analysis and the more stringent evaluation condition of ITT analysis. (C) 2012 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.