Health Improvement Plan to Increase Physical Activity in Children from ethnic minority and lower socio-economic class (SEC) in London Borough of Ealing, UK- A theorybased solution Volume 5 - Issue 4

Vidhi Sadana*

• Rheumatology Unit, Central Middlesex Hospital, London, UK

Received:October 25, 2021   Published: November 8, 2021

Corresponding author: Rheumatology Unit, Central Middlesex Hospital, London, UK.

DOI: 10.32474/OSMOAJ.2021.05.000216

 

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Abstract

Low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary behaviour London Borough of Ealing are primary drivers of high levels of preventable chronic conditions. In the last two decades, the government has invested heavily to increase PA levels. However, these initiatives have not reached target groups such as low income and ethnic minorities. Children from this group face number of social, environmental and cultural barriers to engaging in PA. The article presents a health improvement intervention plan to improve PA of children aged 8-12 years from ethnic minorities and lower SEC living in the London Borough of Ealing using Socioecological Theory.
Theory-Based Solution: Let’s Get Fit Ealing is underpinned in a socio-ecological approach focusing on multi-level factors that can provide a comprehensive solution to increased PA in ethnic minorities children from deprived parts of Ealing. It is a sixweek school-based intervention to influence children’s behaviour to engage in national guidelines of daily 60 minutes of MVPA. Components are 30 minutes policy of MVPA during otherwise sedentary times in school hours such as recess.
Discussion: Low SEC ethnic children who have limited access to PA facilities and environmental factors outside of school deters them from engaging in PA. Additionally, low SEC in London finds neighbourhood constraints as one barrier for children to engage in PA. However, the solution uses school and its after school component as a setting for the delivery of the health-promoting intervention for children as it has an advantage due to its universal attendance, a significant amount of time spent in school and access to PA facilities and PE staff. The additional component includes providing information to parents about national guidelines and health benefits about PA to support their children in the most common languages used in Ealing.
Conclusions: The socio-ecological framework offers a comprehensive approach to increasing levels of PA in children from ethnic and low SEC backgrounds of Ealing because it addresses not only the individual characteristics but also social and environmental influences. With many inactive children residing in this borough and high levels of preventable chronic conditions such as childhood obesity, the solution presents an excellent opportunity to increase PA in children based on previous successful school-based research.

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