YMCA Awards qualification and partnership is the culmination of pivotal 12 months for MH1 Global and MHQ
We are delighted to be partnering with YMCA Awards to create a new qualification aimed at supporting what we term the ‘wider public health workforce’ – the YMCA Awards Level 3 Certificate in Supporting Wellness Through Lifestyle Behaviour Change.
It is estimated that up to 20 million people in over 170 occupations contribute to public health through their work, even if they do not realise it (1).
Together, our goal is to empower this wider public health workforce to help individuals make physical activity and lifestyle choices that improve health and wellbeing.
The announcement is the culmination of a momentous year for MH1 Global after we launched MHQ – our game-changing tool that provides the evidence to verify early, non-clinical interventions can improve wellbeing – at a YMCA Awards-hosted event celebrating the 25th anniversary of YMCA Awards at the House of Commons.
Holistic approach to improve physical and mental wellbeing
As part of this qualification, learners will gain an understanding of the 11 lifestyle factors assessed by the MHQ:
• Physical activity
• Emotional wellbeing
• Sleep
• Social interaction
• Finances
• Work/life balance
• Employment
• Confidence
• Self-image
• Nutrition
• Stress and anxiety.
MH1 Global founder Lynne Briggs, says: “The UK currently faces significant public health challenges including physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour, obesity, substance misuse and mental health issues. These challenges can negatively affect individuals’ wellbeing and increase pressure on public services like the NHS.
“MHQ produces insightful data that triggers a holistic approach to interventions that can improve people’s mental wellbeing, as well as their physical health.”
MHQ was developed by fellow MH1 Global director and psychology master’s degree graduate Paula Litherland, who originally created it for fitness sector professionals whilst studying at Edge Hill University, with input from colleagues in the university’s psychology faculty.
Mapped to CIMSPA professional standards
Mapped to the CIMSPA (the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity) Health Navigator professional standard, our qualification provides learners with the knowledge and skills to:
• Initiate conversations around a variety of lifestyle factors and their influence on wellbeing.
• Elicit information using motivational interviewing style questioning.
• Create lifestyle interventions, tailored to the individual and their unique circumstances.
• Evaluate the impact of lifestyle interventions to support wellness.
• Signpost to other local services and professionals where appropriate.
Formerly known as Central YMCA Qualifications (CYQ), YMCA Awards have helped to create its standing as an expert in education, health and wellbeing thanks to the development of its UK-regulated and globally recognised qualifications that build on its founding principle of wellness – a holistic approach to health and wellbeing that incorporates the mind, body and spirit.
This qualification will utilise YMCA Awards’ next generation qualification principles to empower learners to build strong links between knowledge and skills and prepare them for the real world.
Leisure trusts adopts MHQ to benefit staff and members
Announcing our partnership with YMCA Awards provides a timely opportunity to reflect on a pivotal year for MH1 Global and MHQ.
Following 18 months of development and its launch in spring, MHQ has been adopted by North West leisure operator Volair Ltd to benefit its staff and 6,000 members.
Volair, which operates the management of five leisure centres and six secondary schools for the benefit of the community (after 6pm, weekend/holiday periods) across Knowsley, is sharing the questionnaire with its members to help them recognise negative impacts on their mental health, while signposting them to the help and support they need.
Volair is using MHQ as part of a community support programme that includes community roadshows in its leisure and learning centres where visitors can access advice and assistance from charities and other support organisations on subjects such as financial difficulties, healthy eating, sleep deprivation, stress and anxiety and what the causes are.
Lynn Wilson, Volair’s Commercial and Partnerships Manager, says: “We’re in Knowsley where there is some of the highest levels of deprivation in the UK. We’ve developed a network of preferred partnerships where we can signpost people to.
“It includes people who will sit down with you to help you get the help and support you need. For example, they won’t give you a complicated form to fill in about your finances and ask you to fill it in on your own, when finances are probably the biggest cause of stress and anxiety in your life in the first place.
“We’re not sending the MHQ to 6,000 people in one go. We’ve looked at our membership base and prioritised certain demographic groups, and we’ll send it out in small numbers to the different demographics until we reach everyone over a matter of time.”
Once a member’s MHQ data has been collated and assessed they are offered two routes to seek help and support – one is via a web-based self-referral channel, while members of Volair’s fitness team are assisting those who need one-to-one help in seeking out the best advice.
The first set of results/outcomes are set to be published in January 2024 and we cannot wait to see them!
MHQ help college to become an award winner
Oldham College of Further Education in Greater Manchester was crowned winner of the first ever Workforce Health and Wellbeing Award at the Oldham Business Awards in recognition of its holistic strategy towards employee health and wellbeing which included using MHQ.
Our questionnaire is being shared with around 400 staff members to help them recognise negative impacts on their mental health, while signposting them to the help and support they need.
As well as introducing MHQ as the core of its wellbeing strategy it has helped to shape the college’s work on workload principles for teaching staff to help address work pressures.
Partners and Advisory Board
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners: Matrix Fitness UK, Cornerstone DM, LFX, FitPro, ReferAll and YMCA Awards for their unwavering support this year and look forward to continuing their partnerships during 2024!
Thanks also to our amazing Advisory Board whose collective expertise continues to influence everything we do. They are: Hans Meunch, Dr Karlie Intlekofer, Rachel Young, Andree Dean Barron, Dr Paul Batman, Dr Chris Loxley, Dr Stergios Makris, and Dr Helen Wall.
Discover more about MH1 Global and join our community
To learn more about MH1 Global’s products and services please email [email protected]
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A NORTH West leisure operator is using a new and unique mental health questionnaire to benefit its staff and 6,000 members.
Known as MHQ, the questionnaire is a validated psychometric tool that tracks a person’s mental health using 11 lifestyle factors as markers.
It was originally developed for fitness sector professionals by psychology masters graduate Paula Litherland, formerly of Edge Hill University, with input from colleagues in the university’s psychology faculty.
Now Volair, which operates five leisure facilities and a further five learning centres across Knowsley, is sharing the questionnaire with its members to help them recognise negative impacts on their mental health, while signposting them to the help and support the need.
Volair is using MHQ as part of a community support programme that includes community roadshows in its leisure and learning centres where visitors can access advice and assistance from charities and other support organisations on subjects such as financial difficulties, healthy eating, sleep deprivation, stress and anxiety and what the causes are.
Lynn Wilson, Volair’s commercial and partnerships manager, said: “We’re in Knowsley where there is some of the highest levels of deprivation in the UK.
“We’ve developed a network of preferred partnerships where we can signpost people to.
“It includes people who will sit down with you help you get the help and support you need.
“For example, they won’t give you a complicated form to fill in about your finances and ask you to fill it in on your own, when finances are probably the biggest cause of stress and anxiety in your life in the first place.
“We’re not sending the MHQ to 6,000 people in one go.
“We’ve looked at our membership base and prioritised certain demographic groups, and we’ll send it out in small numbers to the different demographics until we reach everyone over a matter of time”
Once a member’s MHQ date has been collated and assessed they are offered two routes to seek help and support
– one is via a web-based self-referral channel, while members of Volair’s fitness team are assisting those who need one-to-one help in seeking out the best advice.
MH1 Global founder Lynne Briggs added: “Many of the factors addressed in the MHQ are required by public health and health and wellbeing boards, which operators need to evidence for funded projects.
In addition, having this data will help operators assess the lifestyle needs of their members and communities.
“The MHQ is what the industry has been waiting for – a validated tool that produces insightful data that triggers a holistic approach to interventions that can improve people’s mental wellbeing, as well as their physical health. We are extremely grateful to Volair for recognising the benefits MHQ can bring, and for taking it to such a large audience.”
MH1 Global is a prominent movement dedicated to offering mental health training, education and consultancy for professionals in the fitness, health and wellness industries.
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