Objective The main objective of this study was to explore patients' perceptions of general practitioner (GP) exercise referral (ER) schemes with a view to providing a better service for future patients. Design A qualitative focus group methodology. Setting Meeting rooms or communal areas in leisure centres across North Yorkshire. Method Thirty participants took part in six focus groups. Data were analysed using a content analysis technique based on the 'framework' approach. Results Participants were generally very positive about the ER schemes and reported numerous benefits including: improved self-confidence, wellbeing and quality of life; increased physical activity behaviour and awareness; and improved physical health and fitness. Access to the ER scheme appeared to be restricted due to a lack of awareness amongst primary health care staff. Participants were content with the activities provided by the leisure centres, but felt that there should be more group activities and opportunities to meet other people. Conclusion Findings from this study provide support for the use of ER schemes for promoting physical activity and improving health. Despite existing evidence supporting a move towards promoting informal, unstructured, unsupervised physical activity, ER schemes provide participants with support, supervision, structure and opportunities for social contact, which act as powerful motivators for some people. In terms of a population approach, however, the ER scheme must be considered as just one method for promoting physical activity, and must be part of a broader strategy encompassing a wide range of initiatives in a number of settings.
Background: The health benefits of an active lifestyle have been extensively documented and generally accepted. In the UK, declining physical activity levels are a major contributing factor to a number of public health concerns such as obesity and coronary heart disease. Clearly, there is an urgent need to support people in developing sustainable active lifestyles. In 2003, a new lifestylebased physical activity service called Active Lifestyles (AL) was set up in Kingston-upon-Hull to help local residents to become more active and develop healthier lifestyles. The service targeted the most deprived communities in the city. The aim of the study was to explore participants' perceptions of the operation and effectiveness of the AL service.
PAGE' See Bibliography on pp. 39S-403.- Wormald.-'Brown Rot' Diseases .of Fruit Trees. years previously found apothecia which had developed from mummied peaches; this form Norton himself referred to Sclerotinia fructigena, but Aderhold and Ruhland (1905) concluded that it was .S". cinerea.Westerdijk, in 1912, discovered a Sclerotinia on mummied cherries which, from the dimensions of its asci and ascospores, appeared to be different from S. fructigena, S. laxa, or 5. cinerea; the direct connexion between the ascospores and a conidial.stage was not traced however." That Monilia was a genus which was to be considered as of economic importance was recognized by von Thiimen in 1875, and in the following year by Hallier. Soon epidemic outbreaks of diseases caused by Moniliasof fruit trees on the Continent resulted in the publication of many papers on the subject, particularly during the last decade of the nineteenth century, when articles appeared under such, well-known, names as Schroter (
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.