Development and refinement of the parkrun practice initiative

PI Title: Rosina Cross

Lead Member: University of Exeter

Background: Physical inactivity is a major health issue in the UK. It contributes to illnesses like heart disease, diabetes, and depression, and costs the NHS about £0.9 billion each year. Regular physical activity improves physical and mental health,
helps manage long-term illnesses, and supports overall well-being. Despite these benefits, many people, especially those with chronic conditions or from lower-income backgrounds, face barriers to being active.

Parkrun is a free, community-based event that helps overcome these barriers by offering 5-km run or walk events in local parks each week. parkrun is open to everyone, creating a welcoming environment that promotes physical activity and builds
social connections. In 2018, the parkrun practice initiative linked GP surgeries with local parkrun events to encourage staff and patients to take part. This initiative has shown benefits such as better well-being, stronger community links, and higher
staff morale. However, challenges like lack of time, low engagement, and distance to events have limited its success in some areas. This project aims to improve the initiative so it can reach and help more people.

Aim: This project aims to explore how GP surgeries implement the parkrun practice initiative. By understanding the factors that make it easier or harder to deliver, we aim to refine the program to better support physical activity promotion in
primary care.

Methods: We will interview staff from GP surgeries that have successfully implemented the parkrun practice initiative and those that have faced challenges. Interviews will be semi-structured and follow a topic guide informed by the Consolidated
Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). CFIR is a widely used framework for understanding how and why interventions are implemented successfully or not. The interviews will be recorded, written up, and analysed to look for common themes. A software tool will help organize and compare the information. This process will help us identify practical steps to improve the parkrun practice initiative and make it easier for all practices to use.

Patient and stakeholder involvement: Throughout the project, we will work with patients and stakeholders. This will ensure the intervention we develop is appropriate and that we share results from this research in a way that is accessible and
engaging.

Impact: The findings from this research will help refine the parkrun practice initiative, making it easier for GP surgeries to promote physical activity effectively. We will share these results widely, including through academic publications, conference
presentations, and resources tailored for GP surgeries and the public. Collaboration with stakeholders such as the Royal

College of General Practitioners and parkrun will support the broader adoption of these findings into development of the parkrun practice initiative. We aim to test effectiveness of the refined programme in future research.