Delivering men's health interventions in English Premier League football clubs: key design characteristics

Objectives To investigate the key design characteristics of Premier League Health (PLH), a national programme of men's health improvement delivered in/by 16 English Premier League (EPL) football clubs.

Study design Health Trainers (HTs) were hired by EPL clubs to deliver PLH. HTs were the focus of investigations aimed at identifying the active design characteristics of male-specific health promotion interventions.

Methods Semi-structured interviews led by researchers were performed with 13/16 HTs and identified the key design characteristics influential in (I) reaching and (II) helping participants adopt health improvement interventions delivered in professional football club settings.

Results HTs believed that combining the appeal of football alongside EPL clubs, offered a unique opportunity to reach adult males, including hard-to-engage-men (HTEM). Awareness raising events held on match days aimed to connect with men, but outreach activities were especially important for engaging participants. Following initial reach, familiar settings, such as the club stadia and community venues were also important for ensuring regular involvement in health improvement sessions. Interventions shaped around men's health needs and delivered at times when participants could more easily attend, were factors which helped to engage men. Supportive social environments and a range of exercise modes and delivery options were also seen by HTs as being similarly important. Both the informality and familiarity of EPL clubs were viewed by HTs as having substantial advantages over conventional NHS settings for reaching and engaging men. Importantly, HTs contributed substantial skills to the delivery of PLH.

Conclusion Although, top flight professional football clubs can recruit men, including those regarded as hard-to-engage into health improvement programmes, considerable attention to delivery refinement is needed to support male participants adopting interventions aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles.