Measuring up

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Issue: 15 July 2009
Author: Louise Hunt

The use of technology is helping a public health programme achieve success. Louise Hunt reports

A physiotherapy-managed multidisciplinary service is using state-of-the-art heart rate monitoring technology to develop bespoke programmes for improving health and well-being. The Health Pod is currently based in an independent hospital in west London, but its director Tim Wright believes it could become a model for use in polyclinics and other community settings.

The facility, run by Optima-Life, is located at the St John and St Elizabeth hospital and is delivered by a health enhancement practitioner, which in this case is a role undertaken in turns by a physiotherapist and an exercise sports scientist.

It is designed to be both a reactive service for patients with existing health problems, such as diabetes, and a proactive one with an emphasis on maintaining health and disease prevention. If need be, patients can be referred to a range of other health professionals on site.

What's different?

The Health Pod programme begins with assessment and measurement, as the practitioner questions patients
over a range of factors that could impact on their health and ability to keep fit, including lifestyle, stressors, pathology, sleep/recovery, work, diet and exercise.

What sets it apart from other health and well-being programmes taking a similarly multi-faceted approach, its
providers claim, is that the Health Pod uses a software programme from Finnish company Firstbeat Technologies. A monitor is worn on a belt, which measures patients’ heart-rate variability for up to 72 hours, to produce a more detailed analysis of these factors than a subjective questionnaire alone. ‘It uses objective measures to produce reports on things like energy expenditure and weight management.

It is a very succinct way to measure how effectively someone is exercising,’ says Mr Wright.

Bespoke goal

The reports, which are meant to be easily comprehensible to patients, are then used to develop a personal health plan and ‘stepping stone strategy’, which Mr Wright describes as bespoke goal setting for exercise, diet and lifestyle approaches to improve health.

Being situated in a hospital means the Health Pod has a large catchment base for referrals, adds Mr Wright. ‘There is a GP surgery and referrals might also come from other practitioners in the hospital, such as physiotherapists who have identified patients who are experiencing a slow recovery.’  It also receives self-referrals from  people interested in improving their general well-being.

‘We see opportunities for the Health Pod within polyclinics or company health centres. It can be transformed to fit into numerous settings,’ he adds.

A current venture is a small pilot project with the West London Cancer Network that is assessing wellness and lifestyle in cancer patients. ‘We are introducing strategies that deal with a whole host of wellness factors, from exercise, to relaxation, to sleep hygiene and healthy eating. The project looks at the physiological markers and patient feedback at the start and the end of their programmes,’ says Mr Wright.

Positive results

Outcomes so far are: 85.7 per cent of patients have shown an improvement in fatigue levels and 57 per cent have shown a reduction in their waist measurement. There has also been an improvement in the understanding of physical activity in all patients.

Mr Wright hopes this work will lead to more collaborations between the Health Pod and other organisations.