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The core activities of the National Centre involve translating research evidence into practical advice and recommendations and undertaking research and evaluation to help further our understanding of what interventions are effective in increasing physical activity. The reputation built up by the BHFNC has resulted in many leading national organisations and government departments seeking the involvement of the Centre in their work on physical activity. This includes projects on communities, schools and worksites and the BHFNC works in collaboration with other lead organisations including the Department of Health, Youth Sports Trust, National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence, Sport England and SPAR Coll.
One of the key areas of BHFNC work is to build capacity in the promotion physical activity by working with a range of professionals, in various settings in the health sector and beyond. Our work aims to communicate research findings, to develop knowledge and skills, and to provide current information and support across a range of projects and approaches to promoting active and healthy lifestyles.
Research Archive
Click on your area of interest to see the research projects the BHFNC is involved in:
General Physical Activity and Health
Primary Care
Young People
Older Adults
Work Place
General Physical Activity and Health
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (ongoing). A 12-month project comprising 5 systematic reviews of literature on the effectiveness of environmental interventions aimed at increasing physical activity. The environment is grouped into 5 areas: urban, building, natural, transport and policy. The review of the natural environment, including woodlands, has already commenced and over 20,000 hits have been screened to identify relevant studies.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2005-6). A systematic review of literature of effectiveness of 4 behavioural-based interventions aimed at increasing physical activity. This included pedometer interventions, walking and cycling, brief advice from primary care providers and exercise referral programmes. This work was completed in January 2006 and provided the underpinning evidence base for the NICE Guidance released in March 2006.
Health Development Agency (2004-05). A systematic review of literature of effectiveness of interventions aimed at increasing physical activity in the following settings and populations: older adults, black and minority ethnic groups, primary care, worksite and the community. This work involved a review and synthesis of the published evidence and consultation with identified stakeholders and professional groups to discuss the practical implications and develop draft recommendations. A series of focus groups were undertaken to provide a national picture. The final report from this work was published by NICE in 2005.
Health, Access to Green-space & Informal Outdoor Recreation within the Greenwood Community Forest and Nottingham City (2004). BHFNC and the Geography Department at Loughborough University were commissioned by the Countryside Agency to investigate the links between health, and access to green space and participation in informal outdoor recreation within Nottingham City and the Greenwood Community Forest to inform future project planning based on local need, opportunities and evidence of effectiveness. This project involved 3 stages: descriptive data collection on current health and physical activity levels in the relevant community (phase1); an audit of current health initiatives and accessible green space and health problems was collated and mapped using existing GIS data (phase 2); data were synthesized to demonstrate evidence of need and opportunities for specific programmes (phase 3).
Mapping of Case Studies (North East, Yorkshire, East Midlands, West Midlands, East Regions). The BHFNC has collaborated with regional Public Health Observatories, regional Health Authorities and regional Sport England partners to conduct a series of audits or mapping exercises to capture what programmes and projects are underway in each region aimed at physical activity and to develop a set of case studies. This work involved developing a method and project pro-forma to capture relevant project information, a quality assessment stage as well as a follow-up stage to collect additional or missing project information.
BHFNC and Forestry Commission England (FCE) Partnership Project. The BHFNC worked with the Forestry Commission to explore the role the Forestry Commission currently plays in promoting health and what it could contribute in the future. The project involved three phases: understanding FCE and its current links with health, a training and learning needs analysis, and development of a programme for future action in working with health.
NHS Health Scotland – Scottish Physical Activity Research Collaboration (SPARColl). The BHFNC is part of SPARColl, a three-year project commissioned in July 2005 by NHS Health Scotland and hosted by the University of Strathclyde. SPARColl aims to promote excellence in research and provide an evidence base relating to physical activity and health. The SPARColl programme of work is being undertaken in two phases (Phase I Aug 2005 - April 2006 and Phase II May 2006 - July 2008). Work currently being undertaken in Phase I includes a systematic review of international walking interventions and mapping of existing walking programmes in Scotland.
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Primary Care
Exercise Referral Review. Following the NICE Physical Activity Collaborating Centre review of the effectiveness of exercise referral schemes, BHFNC is undertaking an additional review of the evidence base of exercise referral schemes.
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Young People
Couch Kids. A report outlining current statistics and research on physical activity and young people in the UK, was written by the BHFNC for the BHF. It contains evidence of the benefits of physical activity, current activity recommendations, prevalence data on current activity levels, factors associated with physical activity in children and young people, motivation and barriers to activity, information on diet and obesity, sedentary levels and opportunities for children and young people to be active. It also includes policy recommendations to the various agencies that have a part to play in promoting more health-enhancing physical activity for young people.
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Older Adults
Support for National Coalition for Active Ageing. In 2004 the BHFNC was instrumental in initiating the National Coalition for Active Ageing, established to bring together key agencies and stakeholders to collectively support the cause of promoting physical activity with older people.
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Work Place
Well @ Work National Evaluation (2005-2007). Well @ Work is a joint programme led by the British Heart Foundation with funding from Active England (Sport England and Big Lottery Fund’s joint awards programme) and the Department of Health. It is a £1.5m, two-year programme to test ways of getting England’s workplaces healthier. The Well @ Work programme aims to highlight ways of improving diet, increasing physical activity and reducing smoking and discover what changes in and around the workplace can effect positive differences in employees’ health and achieve a lasting improvement to their lifestyles. Well @ Work involves nine pilot research projects across the country that are trialling methods of ‘healthy interventions’ aimed at improving the health of employees at a variety of workplaces. The aim is to establish which changes made in and around the workplace positively influence employees’ lifestyles and improve their health and which do not. No such project has ever been tried in the UK before and it is hoped the outcomes could influence public health policy. The programme will be evaluated by the University of Loughborough throughout and a report will be produced at the end with recommendations.
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