Mapping Greener HealthcareMapping Greener Healthcare

The aim of this project is to pilot a travel loyalty scheme to help change employees’ travel behaviours during the working week. Recent public health guidance from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence recommends that employers develop policies to encourage employees to walk, cycle or use other modes of transport involving physical activity to travel to and from work as part of their working day. It is envisioned that this incentive scheme will break travel and exercise habits and create healthier habits that once established will be sustained.

Costing:

£25 per 100 people = £2500*

Set up of online diary including graphics design = £ 500

Total = £3000

* Looking at evidence from other travel schemes, e.g. Walk to Work competitions, there will be a proportion of people who won’t achieve the upper threshold of ‘business class’, therefore it is anticipated that the prize money will come out of the £2500.

Planned Follow up:

Six weeks after the project has ended all participants will be contacted via a telephone survey. This will be conducted by the public health team and will comprise of questions on whether they have continued to sustain their new travel habits, maintain the required 30 minutes of exercise a day and whether participation in the project prompted other positive changes in their exercise or travel habits, e.g. undertake long walks at weekends or walk or cycle to local shops instead of bus or car. Participants will also be asked to feedback on the project and demographics collected.

Six months after the project has ended, there will be a further quick telephone survey and the results of the short-term and the long-term impacts will be analysed. A report will be produced and presented to the Healthy Weight Board (a partnership board that is responsible for tackling obesity in the borough) and to the Health and Well-being Board. Results from the report including lessons learnt will be utilised in planning workplace health initiatives.

Update May 2012:

We delayed the start of our project due to poor uptake. The active part of the project has finished but we are just about to start the first of our follow-ups (we are doing a 6 week follow up and a 6 month follow up).