joint strategic needs assessment foundation profile - JSNA

Interative Hull Atlas: www.hullpublichealth.org/Pages/hull_atlas.htm More information: www.jsnaonline.org and www.hullpublichealth.org
8.5.10.2 Success of Weight Loss Programmes in Terms of Improvements in Physical
and Mental Health
An evaluation was undertaken of individuals participating in the Shapes Slimming Club
which was part of the Stay Healthy Live Longer project using the SF-36v2 TM
questionnaire. Participants completed the questionnaire initially and then six months
later in order to assess health status and change in health status over the six-month
period. Sixty-five individuals completed the questionnaire in January 2006 and 50 of
these individuals also completed the questionnaire in July 2006.
The SF-36v2 TM questionnaire is a frequently used questionnaire to asses various
components of health. As well as a „health transition‟ question which compares current
health with health one year ago, eight different health scores are created from the
responses to the 36 questions which measure various aspects of health as follows:
Physical functioning: Extent to which health limits physical activities such as selfcare,
walking, climbing stairs, bending, lifting, and moderate and vigorous
exercises.
Role–physical: Extent to which physical health interferes with work or other daily
activities, including accomplishing less than wanted, limitations in the kind of
activities, or difficulty in performing activities.
Bodily pain: Intensity of pain and effect of pain on normal work, both inside and
outside the home.
General health: Personal evaluation of health, including current health, health
outlook, and resistance to illness.
Vitality: Feeling energetic and full of life versus feeling tired and worn out.
Social functioning: Extent to which physical health or emotional problems
interfere with normal social activities.
Role–emotional: Extent to which emotional problems interfere with work or other
daily activities, including decreased time spent on activities, accomplishing less,
and not working as carefully as usual.
Mental health: General mental health, including depression, anxiety, behaviouralemotional
control, general positive affect.
These scores range from zero representing the worst health to 100 representing the
best health.
The difference or change in score was calculated as the score at six months minus the
score at baseline. So a difference of zero represents no change and a positive
difference represents an improvement in health. In the figure below, the dots represent
the actual mean change for each health component calculated for the 50 individuals in
the weight loss programme, with 95% confidence intervals (see section 12.5 on page
775 for more information about confidence intervals).
Joint Strategic Needs Assessment Foundation Profile – Hull Health Profile: Release 3. March 2011. 300