28 Oct Howzat? Workshop on health initiatives in cricket
The Boundaries For Life (BFL) health checks programme will host a workshop discussing the role cricket can play in improving the health of fans, staff and the wider community at Lords Cricket Ground on November 8th.
Over the last 20 years, sports clubs and their community trusts or charitable foundations have become important community catalysts. The power of a team’s badge presents many opportunities to engage the public about various issues including education, employment and health.
Sports stadia have previously been used to offer health interventions and opportunistic health checks, and despite relatively modest results from football and rugby matches, professional cricket fixtures with high footfall may offer higher levels of uptake and participant satisfaction. Not to mention providing a novel setting for engaging BME communities.
The use of cricket stadia, including Old Trafford, Headingley and Edgbaston, to perform opportunistic health checks has been the driving force behind the success of the Boundaries 4 Life initiative and interest continues to grow.
BFL is just one of a number of health initiatives in cricket that will be discussed at a workshop hosted at Lord’s Cricket Ground on November 8th. You can download the full agenda here. For more information about Boundaries For Life, visit their website and follow them on Twitter.
About Boundaries For Life
Boundaries For Life (BFL) is a successful health campaign that has been used to great effect at professional cricket matches since 2011. The aim of BFL is to offer free health checks to fans and staff over the age of 35 during the course of a match, and to raise awareness of chronic disease such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (heart disease and stroke), and mouth cancer. The health check service is offered to the host club and its fans free of charge.
The Boundaries for Life initiative has been devised by a small consortium of health and sports stadia professionals, with events staffed by a team of doctors, dentists and nurses volunteering their time for free. The screening process – similar to a car’s annual MOT check – is only 15 minutes long, and includes measurement of blood pressure, body mass index and cholesterol levels, with an additional mouth check carried out by a dentist.
Boundaries for Life events typically average 40 – 50 participants over the course of the day, and all participant are given simple healthy lifestyle advice. Participants also receive a card with their own personalised health information, to follow up with their own doctor or dentist. No invasive procedures (blood tests) are carried out, and each participant will sign a consent form to participate in the process.
