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Supporting a single mother to find time to look after herself
A mother was referred to the Physical Activity Social Prescribing service in her area by her GP for back pain. She was six months pregnant, solo parenting her toddler and living on the top floor of her block of flats. Life was physically tough, and she also felt very isolated. A Physical Activity Link Worker (PALW) contacted the mother, and helped to put in place solutions.
Introduction
Wesport (Active Partnership for the West of England) commissioned by Bristol City Council to deliver a Physical Activity Social Prescribing Project.
The challenge
There is often a lack of awareness of how physical activity can be safe for different health conditions. Individuals often find themselves unable to prioritise physical activity due to supporting family and childcare, which couples with the participant feeling isolated and not knowing how to access support.
The solution
Personalised, individual, needs-based support to understand how to navigate complex lives to enable physical activity. This is in part facilitated through Physical Activity Link Workers (PALW).
In the context of this mother, a PALW rang the mother and referred her to our Yoga for Chronic Pain support group. The PALW asked if she wanted more support with her toddler, and she agreed. The mother was then referred to a Family Centre, who arranged a home visit to find out what she needed and explain how they could support her. This included suggestions such as a drop-in stay and play where she would be able to make friends and benefit from possible reciprocal childcare so she could attend Yoga for Chronic Pain.
The impact
The mother received wrap-around support through the service providing social interaction and improved mental wellbeing by guiding the mother to support from the family centre and developing a peer network for the single mum. The mother also received improved physical health outcomes through attending a physical activity class to improve her back pain, reducing her reliance on healthcare and medication.
How is the new approach being sustained?
The mother in this case study developed a wider support network through engaging in both the family centre and the physical activity class, and now attends a community based physical activity class where children are welcome to attend.
Lessons learned
The importance of having roles in place to navigate the physical activity landscape and advocate on behalf of the individual to access services to improve the wider determinants of health to enable physical activity to take place.