Theory of Change
What is the problem we are solving?
The need for people to do a little exercise everyday and keep muscles, bones, respiration, flexibility, etc in good condition. A little every day achieves a lot.
Who is our key audience?
Anyone over the age of 55.
What is the entry point to reach our users?
Inviting people to join one of our wide-range of classes; there is something for everyone. And join our community.
What steps are needed to bring about change?
Any exercise will improve bone density and muscle mass, both of which decrease with age unless we do something about it. If you don’t use it you will lose it. We use our weekly exercise classes as a social and community event to stimulate the desire to do a little on your own every day. Loughborough University ran the “Hip-Hop Study” where they demonstrated just hopping for two minutes a day for one year increased bone density up to 11%. A little does a lot.
And exercise improves respiration, circulation, flexibility, mobility, strength and balance.
When people join in with Healthy Generations they join a community and we email everyone 3 times a week with news of classes and events in the borough and information and stories about health and well-being. The actress Sheila Hancock started doing weights in her 80s because she couldn’t lift her hand baggage into the overhead locker. Three months of weights and she could.
Measurable effect of our work
We ask everyone who starts a class to fill in a simple “Start Form”, recording what they want from the class and if they have any health conditions. We do a lot of remedial classes for people with specific conditions. Every three months we ask users to fill in a “Follow-up Form”, again simple but asking two questions: 1) Subjective: about the class and how they like it and 2) Objective: Have they had symptoms improve, have to take less medication, been re-diagnosed by their doctor? We are slowly building a feedback network with local GPs directly and through Social Prescribing networks and some GPs are prescribing classes for their patients.
In our “Fall Prevention” and “Strength and Balance” classes we ask users to sit in a chair, stand up, walk across the room to another chair and sit down, timing them with a stop watch. A month later we repeat and can demonstrate improvement in time and therefore mobility etc. This is a nice date metric for us but a much more valuable proof, validation and inspiration for the user.
We have a “Weights” class and some feedback is, “I couldn’t lift my arms above my head to wash my hair before, now I can.” “I started having to get a taxi back from the supermarket because I couldn’t walk that far with two bags. No taxi necessary now!” From our Osteoporosis class: “I am now osteopaenic which shows considerable improvement!” “Scan results showed an improvement in my hip and lumbar spine. This is incredible. I’m not on any drugs and haven’t been for a while.”
What is the long-term change you see as your goal?
We reduce isolation and increase health and well-being, helping achieve an active and independent old age, saving money for the NHS and increasing longevity and happiness. Our long-term aim is to keep spreading the word because: “You can’t guarantee good health, but you can definitely increase the odds.”