Active North Yorkshire MSK Hubs Pilot in Harrogate and Selby
Expected completion date: July 2027
At a glance
Active North Yorkshire MSK Hubs provide community-based support for working-age adults with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions such as back pain, arthritis and other joint and muscle problems. The service provides access to trained exercise staff, leisure facilities and tailored support to help people manage their condition, stay active and build confidence. This evaluation focuses on the original MSK Hub pilot areas of Harrogate and Selby. We will explore who uses the Hubs, people’s experiences, how the service fits with local health, leisure and employment support, whether access is equitable, and the costs and wider value of the service.
What does the research mean for Local Government?
This evaluation will provide North Yorkshire Council and its partners with practical evidence about how community-based MSK Hubs work within a local system. We will explore how people access and experience the service, what helps or prevents participation, and how the Hubs connect with health, leisure, employment and community services. We will also examine the resources and costs involved in delivering the service and the wider value it may provide. The findings will help inform decisions about service improvement, future commissioning, integration and sustainability, while providing learning that may be relevant to other local authorities considering similar community-based approaches.
How are the public involved in the evaluation?
People with lived experience and/or those that have an interest in the topic are involved throughout the evaluation as public contributors on a local public involvement and engagement panel.
Public contributors helped shape the evaluation during its development and will continue to advise the research team during the evaluation. They will help review information and recruitment materials, consider how data collection should be carried out, discuss emerging findings and contribute to the development of recommendations and outputs.
This involvement helps ensure that the evaluation reflects the experiences of people who use, or may need to use, the Active North Yorkshire MSK Hubs and that the findings are communicated in an accessible and meaningful way.
Evaluation details
Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including back pain, arthritis and other joint and muscle problems, can affect people's movement, wellbeing, physical activity and ability to work. Access to appropriate support can also vary depending on factors such as where people live, their circumstances, confidence and access to transport or digital services.
The Active North Yorkshire MSK Hubs are community-based services delivered through leisure centres. The Hubs provide working-age adults with MSK conditions with access to trained exercise staff and leisure facilities, alongside tailored exercise and support to help people manage their condition and stay active.
Participants typically take part in a 12-week programme, beginning with assessment and triage and followed by personalised exercise and ongoing support. The service also includes access to Good Boost, an app-based exercise programme for land and water-based sessions. People can refer themselves or be referred by a health professional. The service began as a pilot in Harrogate and Selby and has since expanded to more than 15 sites across North Yorkshire. This evaluation focuses on the original pilot areas of Harrogate and Selby.
The evaluation aims to understand how the MSK Hubs connect with the wider local system of health, leisure, employment services, businesses and community / voluntary support: who they reach and what benefits people experience, how local circumstances influence access and implementation, and what value the service provides for people and local services.
We will use three different methods during the evaluation, including workshops, interviews and data analysis.
Workshops with people with relevant experience such as leisure centre staff, residents, and healthcare providers, will explore how the Hubs fit within the wider local system. We will explore referral pathways, partnerships and factors that support or limit access and delivery.
We will look at existing MSK Hub data, including information about referrals, attendance and engagement. We will also interview people who have used the Hubs to understand their experiences and journeys into, through and beyond the service. This will help us understand what makes it easier or harder for people to take part, differences between people's experiences, and any unexpected impacts.
Finally, we will examine the resources and costs involved in delivering the Hubs and consider this alongside available information about health, wellbeing and employment outcomes. We will also explore the costs and benefits of the service from the perspectives of service users and practitioners.
Public involvement is embedded throughout the evaluation. A local public panel will contribute to the development of data collection materials, recruitment approaches, interpretation of findings and recommendations. This will help ensure that the evaluation remains grounded in the experiences of local communities.
The evaluation will provide evidence to support North Yorkshire Council and its partners in making decisions about the future development, integration and sustainability of the MSK Hubs. Findings may also provide useful learning for other local authorities considering community-based approaches to MSK rehabilitation.
Local Government / Partner(s)
North Yorkshire Council
Active North Yorkshire
PHIRST South Bank Research Team
Susie Sykes, Director of PHIRST Centre,
Jane Wills, Knowledge Mobilisation Lead,
Emma Doohan, Evaluation, and Impact Manager,
Gemma Bridge, Principal Investigator, Senior Research Fellow,
Catherine Jenkins, Research Fellow,
Krishnan Puri Sudhir, Research Assistant,
Pratima Singh, Public Contributor