What do people get out of Beat the Street?

Feedback from Norwich

August 2014

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Key messages

Beat the Street is a community initiative designed to inspire people to walk more. People scan a card or key fob onto ‘Beat Box’ scanners located around the community in order to indicate that they have walked to the boxes, thus earning points that add up to win prizes for their local group / charity or school. In May-June 2014, 443 adults completed a survey when they registered online for Beat the Street in Norwich and 402 of these people scanned their card on at least one journey. Many more people took part but did not register, including teams from schools. At the end of the competition, everyone who registered was invited to provide follow-up feedback and 67 did so (17% of registered active users). The main findings from the survey were:

People were very positive about Beat the Street and the benefits they had gained.

92% of people said they would recommend Beat the Street to friends and family.

The most commonly reported benefits from Beat the Street were getting fit and feeling more healthy, exploring the local area, spending time with family or friends and having fun.

85% of people said Beat the Street helped them to walk more than usual.

At the beginning of the competition, 41% of people reported meeting the Department of Health’s guidelines for levels of physical activity (30 minutes of physical activity for five or more days per week). By the end of the competition, this had increased to 53%. The potential changes were even more positive when data from individuals were matched up rather than looking solely at averages. Based on 37 people matched by Beat the Street card number, 45% were meeting the physical activity level target at the beginning and this rose to 62% by the end of Beat the Street. Due to the small number of people completing the follow-up survey, it is not possible to say whether these were statistically significant increases or whether the changes happened by chance, but the trends are positive.

74% of people said they would try to continue the changes after the competition ended.

The most common suggestions for development were having more Beat Boxes in different locations, advertising more widely and clarifying the rules about whether cyclists could take part.

The survey suggests that Beat the Street is feasible and worthwhile. People said it motivated them to increase their physical activity, spend time with their families and feel good about being part of the community.

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Contents

Beat the Street in Norwich 4

Collecting feedback 5 Surveying participants 5 Characteristics of people surveyed 5

Benefits of Beat the Street 6 Joining Beat the Street 6 What did people get out of Beat the Street? 7 Did Beat the Street influence people’s activity levels? 11

Suggestions 13

Summary 15

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Beat the Street in Norwich

Beat the Street is an innovative community initiative designed to inspire people to walk more. ‘Beat Box’ scanners are located around the community and people can earn points by scanning their Beat the Street card or key fob on scanners to indicate that they have walked to the boxes. Individuals and teams compete to see who can achieve the most points, reach a target (accumulating enough miles to walk around the world) and win prizes. In Norwich the competition ran from 16 May to 19 July 2014. People living or working in the wards of Heartsease, Sprowston and Thorpe St Andrew were eligible to take part.

In total, 443 adults registered online to participate. Many other people may have taken part without registering. For example, school groups participated but were not asked to register online. Overall, 402 of those registered undertook at least one valid journey during the competition, meaning that 91% of those who registered to take part did so to some extent. During registration and again at the end of the competition, people were asked to provide brief feedback online. This report summarises people’s feedback about the impacts of Beat the Street.

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Collecting feedback

Surveying participants An online survey with seven questions plus demographic questions was developed with the support of an independent evaluator. This ensured that the survey could be tailored to the needs of Norwich Beat the Street, whilst building on good practice. The survey explored what people thought they got out of Beat the Street and any changes in their physical activity levels or walking behaviour. All 443 people who had registered online (thus completing ‘baseline’ questions) were emailed a link to the online survey immediately after the competition ended. They were given a week and a half to respond. A prize draw was offered as an incentive. In total, 67 people shared their views, giving a response rate of 17% of the 402 active users (those who completed at least one journey). Response rates for online surveys are typically in the region of 10-15%, so the response rate for Norwich Beat the Street was average. The analysis was undertaken by an independent team.

Characteristics of people surveyed Eight out of ten of those who provided follow-up feedback were women (78%) and two out of ten were men (22%). A good mix of people of different ages provided feedback (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Age groups of people surveyed

Note: 67 people provided feedback.

5%

14%

29% 30%

11% 9%

3%

0%

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35%

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Benefits of Beat the Street

Joining Beat the Street Four out of ten people said they received their Beat the Street card from their child’s school (40%, see Figure 2). Two fifths of people of people had picked up a card from their local library (18%), and the same proportion had received a card directly from the Beat the Street team (18%) or from a wide range of other sources such as work, friends and local shops (23%). 7% of people said they received a card from the reception at their GP clinic, but no-one reported being handed a card by a health professional. Men and women and people from different age groups all had similar trends in terms of where they received their Beat the Street card. 94% of people said it was easy to get a Beat the Street card.

Figure 2: Where did you get your Beat the

Street card?

Note: 57 people answered this question

40%

18%

18%

7%

0%

23%

0% 20% 40% 60%

From my child'sschool

From my local library

From Beat the Streetteam

From GP clinicreception

From GP or healthworker

Other (eg work,friend)

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What did people get out of Beat the Street? Once the competition was over, people were asked to reflect about anything they got out of taking part. They were invited to provide open-ended comments as well as selecting as many options as they wished from a pre-specified list. 85% of people said that Beat the Street helped them in some way. People who answered yes to this question were asked how Beat the Street had helped them and whether they did anything differently during the competition. Fifty-six people provided an answer. The most common feedback was:

increased walking / better fitness

exploring new places in the local area

doing things as a family

getting resources for teams / charity

weight loss

increased team spirit or community spirit / sense of giving something back

Box 1 provides examples of people’s verbatim feedback.

In the closed-ended feedback, the most commonly reported benefits of Beat the Street were getting fit (mentioned by 57%), feeling more healthy (54%), exploring the local area (55%), spending time with family and friends (46%), feeling part of the community (46%) and having fun (46%). About half of the people who provided feedback mentioned these benefits (see Figure 3). Men and women and people from different age groups all selected the same top benefits of Beat the Street. Nine out of ten people said that Beat the Street helped them feel more active (89%) and eight out of ten said Beat the Street had helped them feel healthier (82%). About seven out of ten said Beat the Street encouraged them to get out more (75%) and the same proportion said Beat the Street helped them feel more a part of the community (68%, see Figure 4). 19% of people said that Beat the Street helped them with their health problems but for most people this question was not relevant to them (due to not having health problems). Looking only at those that indicated health problems, 50% said that Beat the Street had helped them with their health problems.

There were no major differences in these trends according to whether participants were women or men or their age groups.

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Box 1: People describing about what they got out of Beat the Street

Examples of increased walking

“Beat the Street helped us as a family to become much more active. We walked to and from school more often. Instead of popping to the shops in the car we would make the effort and go for a family walk with our dog. It will be a great shame to see the Beat the Street initiative go. However I do feel that we will definitely keep trying to be as active.”

“Helped me by walking 52 miles whilst having chemotherapy.”

“Beat the Street has encouraged me to walk to places more and it has helped me to prove to myself that I am capable.” Examples of changing mode of transport

“Encouraged the family to walk instead of taking the car. We also went on walks specifically to collect points which made us even more active.”

“It gave me an incentive to walk rather than get the bus.” Examples of family togetherness

“I got to walk around and spend more time with my mum.”

“Me and my daughter got out and had a good time out of the house” Examples of exploring the area

“I explored highways and byways around Norwich I have never been down before.” Examples of weight loss

“I have lost weight since starting this (plus got lots of blisters). I found instead of jumping in the car we would walk. It also helped me achieve goals, as I would try and go further than the last time I went. I also found when on the days I biked I could do 20 miles which I've never done in my life before.”

“I was walking round tapping the cards with my children when one of them suggested I picked up a card too. It encouraged me to walk the children to school more, and also contributed towards my three and a half stone weight loss.” Examples of team / community spirit

“I think Beat the Street is brilliant because walking is healthy and keeps you fit and you give something back to the community. I think this should be a full on thing and it should carry on.”

“It encouraged a sense of team effort to those completing the task in the school.”

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Figure 3: What are the main things you got out of Beat the Street?

Note: 67 people provided feedback about the things they got out of taking part (100%). Percentages add to more than 100% because people could select as many options as they wished.

57%

55%

54%

46%

46%

46%

31%

21%

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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Getting fit

Exploring the local area

Feeling more healthy

Spending time with my friends and family

Feeling part of the community

Having fun

Doing something good for the environment

Having time for myself

Winning prizes

Saving money on travel

Looking better

Helping with my long-term conditions

Making new friends

Feeling less lonely

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Figure 4: Extent to which people agreed or disagreed with various statements

85

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40

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89

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75

68

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0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Beat the Street helped me to walk more thanusual

Beat the Street helped me to cycle more thanusual

Beat the Street helped me to take the bus lessthan usual

Beat the Street helped me to take the car lessthan usual

Beat the Street helped me feel healthier

Beat the Street helped me be more active

Beat the Street helped me with my healthproblems

Beat the Street encouraged me to get out more

Beat the Street helped me feel more a part of thecommunity

Beat the Street helped me make new friends

I will try to continue any changes after Beat theStreet ends

I would recommend Beat the Street to my friendsand family

Agree Disagree Doesn't apply

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Did Beat the Street influence people’s activity levels? As well as feeling that Beat the Street had positive health, environmental, social and community benefits, the people surveyed reported tangible changes to their walking behaviours. Nine out of ten people said Beat the Street had helped them to walk more than usual (85%) and one in ten said Beat the Street had encouraged them to cycle more (10%). One fifth said that Beat the Street had helped them take the bus less than usual (20%) and two fifths said Beat the Street had helped them travel less by car (40%). Seven out of ten people said they would try to continue the changes they had made after Beat the Street ended (75%). There were no major differences in these trends according to whether participants were women or men or their age groups. This feedback was reinforced by reports about how frequently people took part in physical activity. Figure 5 illustrates how many days per week people reported undertaking 30 minutes or more of physical activity, comparing the beginning of the competition to after Beat the Street ended. On average, people reported undertaking 30 minutes or more of physical activity three days per week at the beginning and four days per week at the end of Beat the Street. Importantly, the proportion of people who were doing no days per week of recommended physical activity significantly decreased (from 22% to 9%, probability of seeing this result by chance: <5%).

Figure 5: Days in the past week week of 30

minutes or more of physical activity

Note: Participants were asked ‘In the past week, how many days have you done 30 minutes or more of physical activity, which was enough to raise your heart rate? This may include sport, exercise and brisk walking or cycling, but not things that are part of your job.’ ‘Before’ data were collected from 443 people at registration and ‘after’ data were collected from 67 people completing the follow-up survey.

9%

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0

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Before Beat the Street

After Beat the Street

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The Department of Health recommends that adults should aim to be active daily and that over a week, activity should add up to at least 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate intensity activity. This averages 30 minutes of physical activity at least five days per week. 41% of people said they were achieving this target when they registered for Beat the Street, and this had risen to 53% by the end of the competition. Due to the small number of people completing the follow-up survey, it is not possible to say whether this is a statistically significant increase or whether the change happened by chance. The trends are positive, however. It is possible that people who completed the follow-up survey were the most active and engaged, regardless of Beat the Street. Therefore it may not be appropriate to compare the data from all people who registered with the follow-up feedback from the most engaged participants. To check the findings, the analysis team compared the data available from people who completed both the registration survey and the follow-up survey. People’s individual data were matched by their Beat the Street card number. This allowed a comparison of the activity levels of individual people before and after Beat the Street.

This ‘matched pair’ analysis revealed positive trends. Individual before and after data were able to be matched for 37 people based on their Beat the Street card number. Of these, 45% of people said they were achieving the Department of Health physical activity level target when they registered for Beat the Street, and this had risen to 62% by the end of the competition (see Figure 6). Due to the small number of people providing information, it is not possible to say whether this is a statistically significant increase or whether the change happened by chance, but the trends are positive.

Figure 6: Days in the past week of 30 minutes or more physical activity from 37

people with before and after data

5%

2%

8%

8%

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43%

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Before Beat the Street

After Beat the Street

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Suggestions

The overall impression from the follow-up survey is that people enjoyed Beat the Street and thought they got a lot out of it. Almost everyone said they would recommend Beat the Street to friends or family (92%) and there was much positive feedback.

“Overall I'm sure the challenge influenced many people to be more active, and that can only be a good thing. The organisers have been first rate, both friendly and inspiring.” “I really enjoyed the activities that were arranged to encourage the community like the Lego walk.” “We have thoroughly enjoyed doing Beat the Street and can honestly say we will miss it! We have been earning points for my children's school and they have been plugging it lots trying to get everyone involved… This has given us a purpose and somewhere to walk to. We have enjoyed then coming home, seeing our activity online and checking the school’s progress in the Leaderboard!! It's been a great initiative and we hope it returns very soon!“

The Beat the Street team are always eager to hear suggestions for development. People were asked how Beat the Street could be made even better, using an open-ended question. Forty-nine people provided suggestions (73%). The most common suggestions related to: 1) expanding the competition 2) promotion and communication 3) practical issues such as rules People believed that there was scope to make the competition even bigger and better. They suggested:

adding more Beat Boxes

running the competition for longer

having more prizes, such as prizes for individuals or people of certain ages

In terms of promotion and communication, people suggested:

wider promotion of Beat the Street so that people who do not have links with schools hear about it

being more precise about the location of Beat Boxes

communicating more regularly with participants using email updates

The main practical issue that people wanted remedied was clarifying whether cycling was allowed.

Box 2 provides examples of verbatim feedback from participants.

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Box 2: People’s suggestions for ongoing development

Examples related to expansion

“Cover more of the city and for longer period, especially school summer holidays.”

“Extend over a greater area. Open it up to other groups, including companies.”

“I really think it should be a year-long challenge to really change people’s long term habits. You could email people monthly challenges so even if they don't get as much time to join in one month they can try again the next. Also you could email printable certificates to people who meet that months challenge.”

“It would have been nice for individuals to have small prizes (such as a sticker or pen etc) each time they met a certain target eg 500 points, 1000 points etc as I think it would have kept people (especially the children) motivated for longer.”

Examples related to promotion and communication

“Advertise, Advertise, Advertise! We had no idea this scheme was happening. Only started to participate half way through. Compulsory School membership, our school had not signed up. Continue with the Scheme.”

“It would have been much more valuable locally if the schools had been involved. Very few people seemed aware of it. We had to find out ourselves, but if schools had promoted the scheme, it would have been much better.”

“Many people asked me what I was doing when I tapped on various boxes which tells me it could be better advertised. Even people who lived right next door to a box did not seem to know what it was.”

Examples related to practical issues

“I really enjoyed participating in the challenge as an individual and following the progress online. I found myself going out for walks more often throughout the day and checking points regularly. However, Beat the Street was very firmly promoted as a walking challenge and yet I often came across people using cycles to quickly acquire points… I would certainly not consider participating in a future 'walking challenge' if it was not regulated to exclude cyclists.”

“In the information about the challenge it states that cycling was deemed cheating, yet you keep referring to people cycling and even have it in the list above. The rules need to be clearly defined and stuck to.”

“The choice of teams was poor. Information about teams was sparse and did not give individual walkers like myself much help in choosing a team. An option to form new teams may be helpful?

“It was a good incentive to walk more. The photos on the internet showing where the beat the street boxes were could have been clearer so they could be identified easier.”

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Summary

The follow-up survey of 67 people who participated in Beat the Street in Norwich suggests that people got a great deal out of taking part. The most frequently reported benefits were feeling fit and healthy, building relationships through spending time with friends and family and feeling part of the community and having fun. People said that they had walked more during Beat the Street. There was a trend towards an increased proportion of people meeting the Department of Health’s physical activity target for adults, though the number of people providing feedback was too small to draw definitive conclusions.

Seven out of ten people said that they planned to continue any changes they had made after the competition ended. The overall message is that Beat the Street is a feasible and worthwhile initiative that is able to generate community support, increase the amount of walking people do and encourage people to want to keep walking more in future. In a few months the Beat the Street team plans to follow up people to see whether the reported changes in walking and physical activity were maintained after the competition ended.