Improving the wider social determinants of health in Sunderland through the Community Wellness Programme

• Health is a key priority in Sunderland, a legacy of the city’s industrial heritage & the outcome of higher than average deprivation levels means the health of the city is well below average

• Adults in Sunderland still die almost 2 years earlier than the average for England

• 16.6% of those under 65 suffer from a long term limiting illness or disability

• Prevalence data suggests 24.1% of adults may be obese

• Only 20.03% of adults are meeting national guidelines of 3 x 30 min activity each week

• 31.8% of adults smoke

“I come here twice a week and I thoroughly enjoy it. I can feel a vast difference over

the weeks I’ve been coming”

Objectives • The aim of the Community Wellness Programme (CWP) is to

increase the number of individuals participating in physical activity

• Target individuals who do not attend other leisure & wellness provision to provide opportunities within the heart of the community

• Ensure sustainability through a comprehensive training programme with the community staff & volunteers

• Engage with health care professionals to signpost individuals to opportunities within their neighbourhood

• Continuing to encourage multi agency working • Work closely with individuals within the community to addresses

the wider determinants of health & understand the barriers that exist to lifestyle changes

• Ensure there is a clear pathway established from the CWP into the Wellness Service to assist individuals who wish to progress to activities within the Wellness Centres

• Understand the localised needs of the community & ensure provision is placed to meet these needs

• Implement a robust monitoring & evaluation framework that ensures evidence can be supplied to demonstrate the positive impact that the CWP is having on the health of the city

Results

• 10 Community Wellness Venues exist in the heart of Sunderland's neighbourhoods

• Over 90 community staff & volunteers have received training to support delivery of the activity sessions

• Currently 45 sessions are delivered across the city engaging with traditionally hard to reach groups

• Over 2000 users participated in the first 12 months of the programme

• Community volunteers have access to many training opportunities

• Specialist sessions are in place for adults with learning disabilities

• Within the first three months of delivery 289 of the 369 individuals participating in the programme were either new to physical activity or had not participated in physical activity in the previous 4 weeks

Conclusions • Whilst the partnership between SCC and STPCT has enabled the CWP to be

established, the partnership between the Wellness Service & the community organisations has helped to build the CWP into a dynamic & productive programme

• Success has enabled the CWP to provide opportunities for those who have been referred to Exercise Referral programme, this enables individuals to access the support programme within their local neighbourhood

• Listening to the target audience about the forms of communication they preferred was essential to engage with individuals that previously hadn’t engaged in physical activity

• Further successes have been attributed to the measurements that were put in place to provide sustainability, notably the extensive training programme, ensuring the programme continues to be driven forward to achieve the overall aim

• The success of the Community Wellness Programme led to its inclusion in an award submission for which SCC & STPCT were awarded Beacon status for Reducing Health Inequalities in 2008-09