The Scottish Borders general practitioners exercise referral scheme (GPERS).

Abstract

Objective: This article describes the Scottish Borders General Practitioners Exercise Referral Scheme (GPERS). Results from a survey carried out three to five years after participants were first referred to the scheme are described.

Design: A semi-structured postal questionnaire was sent out with a pre-paid reply envelope.

Setting: Participants who had been referred to GPERS centres in Peebles and Hawick between 1994-1996 inclusive.

Subjects: Three hundred and twenty four participants who were referred to GPERS who were known to be still alive or living in the area.

Results: Forty percent of questionnaires were returned. Over 40% of these respondents were still significantly active at least twice a week. Almost two-thirds of respondents were either a lot or a little more active than when they were first referred. GPERS had helped respondents make other changes to their lives, and almost 90% were either satisfied or very satisfied with GPERS.

Conclusion: The features which make GPERS different from most exercise referral schemes are likely to have contributed to its success. GPERS does enable many participants to become more active, independently, for at least three to five years after referral, which will have significant health improvement consequences.