Contributions to the psychological evaluation of UK exercise referral: the ER-QLS a measure of exercise-related life-quality

The benefits of physical activity for health are sufficient enough to be incorporated into UK public health policy and the exercise referral scheme is a popular method of engaging sedentary individuals into a more active lifestyle. However, the evidence base as to the extent to which such schemes impact upon holistic health outcomes is limited. This deficit is particularly apparent for psychological measures, despite these being reported as the most likely outcomes of a referral into exercise. The primary reason for this problem is the lack of tools available to exercise professionals with which to capture this valuable data. This thesis proposes that, in addition to the more commonplace monitoring of physiological outcomes and physical activity level, that psychological responses to, and outcomes of, a referral into exercise should be monitored as part of routine practice. The complete thesis provides an exercise referral sensitive quality of life measure, the Exercise Referral Quality of Life Scale (ER-QLS), which is intended for use in practice and/or for the purposes of research. Five stages of research were undertaken to produce the final measure. Two were qualitative and three were quantitative.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Nottingham Trent University

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Hilton, CE

Language dc:language

en