Suchergebnisse

Main AimThe Digital Health Survey was the first nationally representative survey in Wales aiming to understand the extent to which people use social media, disclose personal health related information through social media sites and different user patterns across population groups.
MethodsA nationally representative household sample (n=1,252) was identified by a probabilistic sampling approach. One individual, aged 16 years and older, per household was randomly invited to complete a face-to-face questionnaire between April and June 2018. The survey collected quantitative information on use of social media platforms, perception of sharing personal health information on social media platforms, health status and socio-demographic characteristics. We tested the relationships among use, user type, demographics and health status using Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test correspondingly. Using estimated marginal means (and 95% confidence intervals), adjusted proportions of people who reported their use on social media platforms was calculated by adjusted mean, controlling for confounders.
Results76.9% of the Welsh population engaged with social media, including 64.7% who used one or more form of social media platform on a daily basis. The most frequently used (i.e. daily) social media platform was Facebook (50.6% of the Welsh population including 23.4% used several times a day). Within the population sampled, controlling for confounders, significant higher proportion of women (91%) users were found compared to men (86%). 99.6% of 16-29 years old used social media with significant lower proportions for older age groups (i.e. 75.6% for 60-69 and 59.8% for 70+). No significant differences were found between social media engagement and deprivation quintiles. 9.6% shared personal health information on social media with friends and family, while only 2.7% shared health information with people they did not know.
ConclusionPatterns in social media use are an important consideration for health promotion. The absence of a difference by deprivation groups suggests this approach may reach population more traditional routes have not. However, continued reduction in a digital divide and development of effective solutions for health via social media remains a priority.

In 2014, Welsh Government launched the Wales We Want National Conversation. It asked the people of Wales to say what was important to them about the country they live in and what direction it should take. The response was remarkable and involved thousands of people across the country. The conversation led to the world leading Well-being of Future Generations legislation which now enshrines the principles of collaboration, prevention and involving the people of Wales in how our public services work. Public Health Wales is now developing its long-term ambitions on how it will protect and improve the health of our nation over the next 12 years. Embracing the principles set out in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, we wanted to hear directly from the public about what are the major challenges to health in Wales and how they would like them addressed. We asked 1,001 individuals who represented the different ages, genders and levels of deprivation across Wales to participate in Stay Well in Wales; a nationally representative survey about what we all think could help us live healthier, happier and longer lives. This report sets out what Wales thinks should be done to improve the health of its residents. This is a first for Wales and something that most countries in the world are yet to accomplish. Like the Wales We Want Conversation, the views expressed in Stay Well in Wales have proved to be rich, informed and strongly supportive of investing in a healthier future for our nation. At Public Health Wales, we aim to use this knowledge to help set aspirations for the next decade and beyond and help deliver a Wales with health, opportunity and prosperity for all.

BackgroundEstimates show that only half of adults in Wales meet the UK recommend guidelines for physical activity. In 2015, the financial burden of physical inactivity to the Welsh NHS was estimated to be £35 million. Workplace interventions promoting physical activity can result in positive outcomes for employee health, wellbeing, productivity, job satisfaction and reduced absenteeism. However, the majority of such interventions are prescriptive in the type/duration of physical activity to be completed. In response to Welsh public opinion that employers should do more to help improve the health of their workforce, Public Health Wales (PHW) developed the Time to Move initiative - a 12-month pilot providing employees the opportunity to use one hour (pro rata) of paid work time per week for physical activity of their choice.
MethodsThe Time to Move initiative was evaluated using a pre-experimental time series design. Data were collected using online questionnaires at baseline (June-August 2018), mid-initiative (Dec 2018) and 12-months post-initiative (June–Aug 2019). All measures were self-reported and included physical activity (MET-minutes/week), general health (0, poor – 100, good) and mental well-being (SWEMWBS), job satisfaction (1, very dissatisfied – 5, very satisfied) and participant demographics (e.g. age, gender, pay band).
Findings625 participants completed measures at 12-months post-initiative (72.8% of baseline sample), representing just over a third of all PHW employees. Of those completing all relevant measures, 57.7% reported increased physical activity levels at 12-months compared to baseline (30.6% decreased; 11.6% no change). 75.3% of the sample met UK physical activity guidelines at 12-months compared to 58.8% at baseline. Individuals with the lowest reported levels of physical activity at baseline (n=223) made the greatest improvements - increasing their weekly moderate physical activity by >2.5 hours. Those with moderate activity (n=269) increased by 58 minutes/week and those with high activity levels (n=50) decreased by >4 hours/week. Overall, a small but statistically significant improvement was seen in mental well-being over the study period (mean scores, 22.4 baseline, 23.2 12-months), with participants with categorised as having low mental well-being at baseline benefitting the most. For self-reported health, 34.7% increased their rating (change of at least 10 points), 54.6% had no change and 10.7% declined. The proportion very/quite satisfied with their job increased from 64.4% to 72.0%, with 33.4% of individuals reporting increased job satisfaction (19.6% decreased).
ConclusionsThe Time to Move initiative demonstrates how organisations can encourage and enable their employees to improve their health. Evaluation findings indicate that the provision of paid time to engage in physical activity resulted in positive outcomes for many employees. However, understanding of the impact of the intervention over a longer-period of time is required, including how continued participation may have been impacted by COVID-19-related restrictions.