29 Jun Cricket Promotes Health at England Games
Boundaries for Life: New Campaign to Save Lives Promoted at England Cricket Matches
The European Healthy Stadia Network has helped to facilitate an innovative new health project targeting cricket fans attending England’s international fixtures at the Kia Oval this year.
The initiative aims to save lives through early detection of major killers such as cardiovascular disease and oral cancer. These disorders represent a growing public health problem in the UK, and are particularly prevalent within South Asian communities. The health promotion intervention, called Boundaries for Life, made its debut at the England V Sri Lanka One Day International (ODI) on Tuesday 28th June, and will be repeated at the Test and one day matches against India later in the summer.
Fans attending these matches over the age of 35 are eligible to participate in a free health screening process that measures their blood pressure, body mass index and cholesterol levels, all key indicators relating to chronic diseases. The checks are only 15-20 minutes long, whilst participants are given the opportunity to see a dentist who will perform a basic mouth screen looking for signs of mouth damage associated with potentially cancerous conditions.
The Boundaries for Life project has been devised by a small consortium of health and sports stadia professionals, with the screening service provided by a team of volunteers including doctors, dentists and nurses. Uptake at the first Kia Oval health checks day was exceptionally strong, with 62 fans being screened on the day, of which 10% were advised to follow up significant risk factor scores with their GPs.
Richard Gould, Chief Executive Officer of the Kia Oval said: “We are delighted to support the Boundaries for Life health checks that will be taking place over the course of our international fixtures this summer. This type of service is a fantastic way of contributing to the future health of cricket fans supporting England, Sri Lanka and India who may not normally access health services due to time constraints, and underlines our commitment to community engagement and social responsibility”.
Boundaries for Life schedule 2011:
28th June – England V Sri Lanka, ODI, Kia Oval
18th August – England V India, Test (3rd day), Kia Oval
9th September – England V India, ODI, Kia Oval
The Boundaries for Life consortium includes: Birwood Dental Care, Kia Oval, Southern Medical Services, and European Healthy Stadia Network.
