A qualitative study to explore UK women's experiences of taking part in the couch to 5k programme

Abstract

Background: Women are more likely to be physically inactive than men. People who are physically inactive are at an increased risk of developing non communicable diseases. The Couch to 5K (C25K) programme, which was launched in 2016 by the NHS, is a nine week running programme designed to enable people to run a 5K. The program has had many downloads but there is limited research and evaluations of the program. Therefore, the aim of the study was to explore women's experiences of taking part in the C25K programme. The objectives were to explore women's experiences of taking part in C25K, explore the barriers and facilitators to participation of women taking part in C25K and explore the perceived impact on health and wellbeing. 

Methods: A qualitative approach was used. The researcher recruited seven women to complete online semi-structured interviews. Participants were recruited via snowball sampling and purposive sampling. Participants were recruited from social media and a local parkrun. The inclusion criteria were women who had completed the full nine weeks or who had dropped out the programme from week five. 

Results: The results were analysed on NVivo using thematic analysis and the following themes were found; programme structure, barriers and facilitators, health and wellbeing impacts. The programme had many physical and mental health benefits. Participants identified many barriers and facilitators including peer support, motivation, weather, personal safety, lack of time, injury, and health and wellbeing impacts 

Conclusion: Overall, the research suggested that participants enjoyed the programme. While there is data to show the C25K app has been downloaded many times there is lack of research and evaluations of the program. The programme could be beneficial for physical activity promotion and encouraging more women to run but more research is needed to assess the full impact of the programme.