"What is the score?" A review of football-based public mental health interventions

Football and Zumba Training in Female Hospital Staff: Effects after 12 and 40 Weeks on Self-Reported Health Status, Emotional Wellbeing, General Self-Efficacy and Sleep Problems

Background: This 40-weeks intervention study evaluates the effects on self-reported health status, emotional wellbeing, general self-efficacy and sleep problems among female hospital employees. Methods: 107 employees were cluster-randomized into three groups; football (FG), Zumba (ZG) and control (CG). Outcome measurements were conducted at baseline, 12 and 40 weeks. Weekly training frequencies in the first 12 and next 28 weeks were 2.4 ± 0.3 and 0.8 ± 0.2 in FG and 2.3 ± 0.3 and 0.9 ± 0.2 in ZG. Results: Compared to the CG, the ZG showed significant improvement in self-reported health status (p = 0.025), a reduced frequency of poor and restless sleep (on a 0–4 scale) (p = 0.004), as well as a tendency for reduction in the frequency of problems falling asleep (p = 0.055) and overall sleep problems (p = 0.051). Between baseline and 12 weeks, both the FG (p = 0.017) and the ZG (p = 0.017) showed within-group improvements in emotional wellbeing, whereas this improvement was maintained only in the ZG between baseline and 40 weeks (p = 0.002). The FG showed a significant within-group improvement in general self-efficacy (p = 0.012) between baseline and 12 weeks follow-up, with no such improvements in the other groups. Conclusion: The present findings revealed that a physical activity intervention with Zumba as well as football training may improve mental health and sleep outcomes in female hospital staff.

Levelling the playing field: Exploring inequalities and exclusions with a community‐based football league for people with experience of mental distress

Introduction

Sport workforce strategy in the United Kingdom (UK) has identified the occupational therapy profession as being ideally positioned to contribute to public health agendas relating to tackling physical inactivity amongst marginalised populations, such as disabled people and people with experience of mental distress. However, a robust understanding of the enablers, restrictions, and exclusions such groups encounter when seeking to participate in sport and physical activity is currently lacking.

Methods

This study aimed to gain an in‐depth understanding of the different ways people with experience of mental distress talked about their participation in a community‐based football league in England, in the UK. Nine people took part in this strand of a larger participatory action research (PAR) study, which used go‐along interviews as the method of data collection. In alignment with PAR seeking to address power imbalances, the data from the go‐along interviews were analysed through a Foucauldian lens using a collaboratively produced analytic framework.

Findings

Participants constructed the community‐based football league as fostering feelings of purpose and belonging, against a backdrop of them describing experiencing stigma and exclusion when seeking to be active in their wider communities. They used the concept of occupational marginalisation to further interpret their situation.

Conclusion

Understanding why and how people participate in football extends beyond seeing it as an individual exercise to shared social lives and occupations. With this perspective, occupational therapists could address occupational marginalisation in partnership with community sports organisations, collaborating for wider social change beyond specialist services.

Investigating the delivery of health improvement interventions through professional football club community trusts-strengths and challenges

Objectives

This study audits health improvement provision delivered in/by English professional Football Club Community Trusts and reports the strengths and challenges around the implementation of interventions.

Study design

Multi-methods design: Data were collected through (i) a review of trust websites (n ​= ​72), (ii) an online survey (n ​= ​34/47.2%) and (iii) semi-structured interviews (n ​= ​11/32.3%) with a sub-sample of trust managers.

Results

The review of websites confirms all trusts provided physical activity-led interventions. The online survey showed most managers were male (n ​= ​23/67.7%) and white British (n ​= ​30/88.2%). Two thirds held management roles, (n ​= ​23/67.6%) and represented Championship (n ​= ​12/35.2%), League 1 (n ​= ​13/38.2%) and League 2 clubs (n ​= ​9/26.5%). Trusts provided physical activity and most provided diet (n ​= ​31/91.2%) as well as smoking (n ​= ​20/58.8%) and alcohol (n ​= ​19/55.9%) interventions. Weight management, (n ​= ​25/73.5%), mental health interventions (n ​= ​28/82.4%) were offered. Trusts provided male-specific (n ​= ​20/58.8%), with fewer providing female-specific interventions (n ​= ​15/44.1%). Most trusts (n ​= ​30/88.2%) evaluated interventions. 80.8% (n ​= ​21/26) used public health guidance for programme design, 69.2% (n ​= ​18/26) delivery, 57.7% (n ​= ​15/26) needs assessment and 50% (n ​= ​13/26) evaluation. Interviews and qualitative reports identified strengths including, using football, the ‘club brand’, ‘meeting health needs’ and ‘working as a strategic collaboration with partners’. Challenges included ‘short-term funding staffing, mainstreaming, and evaluating interventions’.

Conclusion

Football Community Trusts deliver interventions, but challenges were encountered when implementing these programmes.

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Football club community trusts provide important physical activity and health interventions.

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Trusts encounter several challenges when implementing health interventions.

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Challenges include sustaining interventions, funding and adopting public health guidance.

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Trusts do not always view public health guidance as useful.

Cognition and interpersonal coordination of patients with schizophrenia who have sports habits

Team sports activities are effective for improving the negative symptoms and cognitive functions in patients with schizophrenia. However, the interpersonal coordination during the sports and visual cognition of patients with schizophrenia who have team sports habits are unknown. The main objectives of this study were to test two hypotheses: first, patients with schizophrenia perform the skill requiring ball passing and receiving worse than healthy controls; and second, the patients will be impaired in these functionings in accordance with the previous studies regarding schizophrenia in general. Twelve patients with schizophrenia and 15 healthy controls, who had habits in football, participated in this study. The participants performed three conventional cognitive tests and a 3-vs-1 ball possession task to evaluate their interpersonal coordination. The results showed that in the 3-vs-1 possession task, the displacement in the pass angle for the patients was significantly smaller than that for the control. The recall in the complex figure test, the performance in the trail making test, and that in the five-choice reaction task for the patients were worse than those for the control. Moreover, we found the significant partial correlations in the patients between the extradimensional shift error and the pass angle as well as between the time in the trail making test and the displacement in the pass angle, whereas there was no significant correlation in the control group. This study clarified the impaired interpersonal coordination during team sports and the visual cognition of patients with schizophrenia who have team sports habits.

'When you have the adrenalin pumping, it kind of flushes out any negative emotions': a qualitative exploration of the benefits of playing football for people with mental health difficulties

BACKGROUND

Physical activity is a factor by which mental health can be improved. However, the association between mental health and physical exercise, in a "team-based sport" setting within the community, remains unclear.

AIMS

The current paper aims to provide an evaluation of a football programme, implemented by Time to Change Wales, funded by the Welsh Government, to improve mental health.

METHODS

Participants attended weekly 90-120 minute football sessions, held in local community venues across Wales, UK, with no requirement on the number of sessions that participants had to attend. A qualitative method was employed to explore the experiences of those who took part.

RESULTS

Individuals who participated in the programme reported psychosocial and physical benefits, such as improved physical and mental health, improved social confidence and having a sense of purpose added to their day-to-day living. Factors affecting participation were also identified within the data, such as environmental barriers. Conclusion: The findings provide both support and contextual extension to previous research in this area; demonstrating the positive effects of sport-based therapy for those with mental health difficulties. Implications and conclusions should be used to inform future research into developing community sport-based programmes to improve mental health.

The men’s wellbeing project: promoting the well-being and mental health of men

Purpose

Comparatively, men have poorer physical and mental health outcomes than women, with a significantly higher suicide rate. Contributory factors are thought to be social and biological, leading to reduced access to health-care services. The study aims to develop and implement community-based support to increase awareness of and access to men’s mental health support networks and groups.

Design/methodology/approach

The project involved three key work-packages discussed in this paper: raising awareness of men’s mental health needs in health care, educational and community settings; collaboration between National Health Services (NHS) and non-NHS health-care support organisations to build multi-sector partnership working; and developing a supported sports-based community intervention aimed at men living with mental health conditions. The acceptability and feasibility of these work-packages were pragmatically evaluated through mixed-methods surveys and qualitative content analysis.

Findings

Overall, both community events and sports groups successfully engaged men living with mental health problems. Organisations interested in men’s mental health are continuing to engage in a partnership initiative. Community events were well-attended and received positive feedback, particularly regarding the educative and real-life experiences approach promoted in the events. The sports intervention is feasible and well-accepted by participants, who described feeling supported with their physical and mental health needs, with increased mental well-being reported.

Research limitations/implications

The main limitations of this project are that the authors only evaluated a football group rather than all work areas. The project collected outcomes relating to participants’ demographics and qualitative reflections of participating in the football group along with a retrospective survey of perceived benefits, but the project did not undertake a pre- and post-comparison of well-being outcomes owing to low completion of these measures. Future work could focus on collecting more pre- and post-measures related to well-being, recovery and inclusion and compare these with men not involved in the football groups or public events.

Practical implications

This paper discusses the development and feasibility of setting up community-based men’s mental health support networks, involving public events, partnership working and targeted-sports interventions. All initiatives were well-received and successfully attended by men living with mental health conditions. Evaluation of the programme revealed the value placed on education about mental health and the role that community sports interventions may play in men’s mental health care.

Social implications

This project has demonstrated three different ways of supporting men’s mental health needs in the community. Community public events were held to raise awareness of men’s mental health needs and issues were well-attended and highlighted the need for health promotion and education in this area across all the communities. The men’s football group demonstrated the feasibility of moving mental health support out into a non-clinical and more community arena in a way that men engaged effectively. Finally, the creation of MensNet has bought together disparate multi-sector organisations successfully to lead public health mechanisms to support men’s mental health needs.

Originality/value

This paper describes a new multi-disciplined approach to supporting health-seeking challenges among men, in particular, how partnership working across NHS and non-NHS sectors can successfully support an identified public health need pragmatically using existing services and organisations.

Literature on peer-based community physical activity programmes for mental health service users: a scoping review

Physical activity is a key determinant of mental health; community programmes aim to increase health and well-being on a community wide scale with emphasis on social interaction. Regular physical activity participation in community settings yields additional social benefits, such as peer support. This scoping review aimed to explore existing literature that has included peer support as a component of community-based physical activity programmes for MHSU. Published literature was examined using electronic databases (SportDiscus, Web of Science, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO), reference lists, and hand searching of journals. Thirteen eligible articles included; adults aged 18 and over, a peer support component, physical activity and/or sport, participants with mental health diagnoses and were community-based. Research published between 2007 and 2019, peer-reviewed and written in English was included. Nine studies found a significant increase in perceived social support, seven studies reported increased mental wellbeing and five studies reported increased physical activity levels. Effectiveness of reviewed programmes were categorised as; overall improvements in physical activity levels, improvements to mental health, exercise related psychosocial benefits, knowledge relating to self-care, and improved social connections. Community-based physical activity programmes produced psychosocial benefits and positive behaviour change for MHSU, warranting greater focus towards implementing effective peer support into community programmes.

Relation of injuries and psychological symptoms in amateur soccer players

Objectives

The first main goal of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression and anxiety as well as self-compassion in a heterogeneous sample of male amateur soccer players. The second main goal of this study was the examination of the relationship between injuries and psychological factors in amateur soccer players.

Methods

Players were recruited from German amateur soccer clubs of the fourth to seventh league. 419 soccer players with the mean age of 22.88 years participated in the psychological and the injury assessment at the beginning of the season and at the end, 9 months later. For the psychological assessment, depression and anxiety rate as well as self-compassion was analysed. Furthermore, the frequencies of injuries were registered.

Results

The results showed that players of the highest amateur league, the fourth league in German soccer, showed significantly higher anxiety values than players from a lower league (p=0.013). There were no differences in depression values dependent on the league. Furthermore, players who suffered from an injury before the start of the season demonstrated higher anxiety values (p=0.027). This result was independent of the respective league.

Conclusion

The results of this study demonstrate that even in higher amateur soccer the anxiety level of the players varies between soccer players of different leagues. Because an injury before the start of the season influenced the anxiety level, a psychological treatment during injury should be considered.