Outcomes of Physical Activity Referral Scheme (PARS) Pilot Programme
Outcomes of Physical Activity Referral Scheme (PARS) Pilot Programme
Dr AB Sirin-Ayva, Andrew Taylor, James Roast, Dr Sophie Edwards, Prof Paul Gately
Introduction
Morelife is a healthy lifestyle provider across the UK. Physical activity referral scheme (PARS) is granted by Morelife to provide assessments of children and young people (CYP) and their families with the aim of increasing their uptake of community-based physical activity, and, to reduce sedentary behaviours.
This programme runs since June 2021, allowing health and social care professionals to refer children into the service if they met the eligibility criteria of ages between 5-17years old and 91st Centile and above (prioritising 96th centile and above).
Methods
Junior PARS is a 10-week social prescribing programme to connect children and young people aged 5-17 years to fun sports and activities in their local neighbourhood. In this programme, Morelife also provide simple tips and advice on how to eat healthy and improve healthy lifestyle. Morelife accepts referral from health professionals or clients and their families. The programme offers an initial assessment, week 1 and 5 reviews with an end assessment.
Measurements
The WHO-5 is a self-report instrument measuring mental well-being. It consists of five statements relating to the past two weeks. Each statement is rated on a 6-point scale, with higher scores indicating better mental well-being (WHO, 2024).
- 77 % achieved their goal of increasing physical activity.
- 100% of completers reported they would continue with the activity moving forward.
Selected parent feedback regarding the programme:
“When she started basketball, she was really struggling, but is now more confident.”
“He is more social and interactive with others.”
“He has started to sleep through the whole night, due to his sugary food swaps for fruit after Tea and is now waking up with more energy to start the day.”
“He has made positive changes to his BMI; he can run faster and has more stamina.”
Selected children’s feedback regarding the programme:
“I like being active and in control of my mind and body.”
“I found exercise tricky at first, but I’m getting used to it.”
“I made improvements to exercise more than I expected.”
Results
Morelife have had 210 referrals between October 2023 until July 2024 with 179 actively engaged clients in the service.
Conclusion
The PARS programme shown to be an effective way of increasing physical activity wellbeing in children and young people. Long term evaluations are needed to see long term effectiveness of the programme on physical activity and weight.
References:
- The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) (2024). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/WHO-UCN-MSD-MHE-2024.01 on 08/04/2025.