Walker Evaluation

Background
Launched in 2007, the new evaluation is designed to highlight WfH's achievements. By upgrading the quality of the data we collect, we can show policy makers, health professionals and the public exactly what we are achieving and what we offer.

This new scheme highlights WfH's achievements through the collection of robust data that has been gathered systematically, in a standardised way, at local, regional and national level. The data is collected, on an individual basis, from all new walkers on all health walk schemes

Outdoor Health Questionnaire (OHQ)
The OHQ is a simple 2-sided form which combines the health walk screening questionnaire and contact details form with a few data collection questions. Each walker simply has to fill in this one, straightforward form at the start of their first walk.

Please find a link to this form at the bottom of the page along with completion guidance notes. It is now being used by a high proportion of WfH walking schemes and has been positively received by scheme co-ordinators and walk leaders alike.

Alison Williams, Health Walks and Community Access Officer for Worcestershire County Council, says:

˜I welcome the introduction of the new OHQ. The questionnaire will be a very useful tool in collecting a wide range of information about our walkers. The database will prove invaluable in being able to assess the impact of Walking for Health across the county as well as nationwide'.

Data collected
The data collection questions enable WfH to gain a local and national picture of who is taking part in health walks. Walkers are asked for their postcode, age range, gender, ethnic background and particular health conditions.

A supplementary question will ask people how physically active they are at the point of joining a health walk. This has the potential to form a very important part of the national evaluation and could also be asked again, after a period of time, to establish how physical activity levels have changed.

Database
A WfH database, to store the evaluation data, has been launched. Natural England Regional Case Officers are in contact with walking schemes about training in their region.

The database forms an integral part of the evaluation programme and enables storage of data on participants of healthy walking and green exercise. The data collected meets the high standards set by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and provides a foundation for further research in the field.

To view/download the database FAQs or the database permissions form:

1. register with the WfH Learning Network

2. click on the appropriate link: database FAQs database permissions form

For more information about WfH evaluation and the OHQ, contact The WfH national team on 0300 060 2287 or email wfhinfo@naturalengland.org.uk.

Context
Since WfH began, local schemes have been encouraged to collect data on participants and keep registers of attendance. Most schemes have recorded this information in local databases and used it to evaluate their work and to show funders how they are meeting targets for encouraging physical activity.

As the need for such physical activity becomes increasingly evident, WfH is aware that:

• the burden on the NHS of physical inactivity continues to grow;
• health inequalities continue to be a serious issue;
• health walks can help to address these problems and save the NHS money.

However, to prove this, WfH is upgrading its data so that policy makers, funders, health professionals and public alike know exactly what we offer and what we are achieving.
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WfH worked with partners - notably the British Heart Foundation, Sport England and British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) - in consultation with NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) to develop this new evaluation system. The process is fully compliant with the Data Protection Act and the data is not traceable to individuals, only an identifying number. All the necessary data protection systems are incorporated into this process so that the data can be used by local schemes as well as by WfH at a national level.

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Walk leaders please note:
The OHQ you can download below is the updated version. This has been amended to include the name of the walk (instead of an ID number) as well as a referral question and to show all tick boxes to the left of relevant text, for consistency.

Data inputters please note:
The Urdu and the Arabic forms below are entirely reversed and therefore read from right to left. Please read the boxes in reverse order.

I find the WfH database handy and purposeful and for, someone of my generation, that's something I never thought I'd say.

So says Alan George, scheme co-ordinator of the Blyth Valley Walkers. The initial work of inputting details of all his existing walkers did take some time but, as Alan says,

It's important because you only get out what you put in.

Now that the bulk of the work is done, Alan finds the database extremely useful not only for reports and data summaries but also for such things as easy, quick access to walkers' phone numbers.

I work 4 hours a day on WfH and the straightforward task of adding new walkers to the database only takes up a very small amount of my time. It's part of my routine now.