Professional sports club and workplace Type 2 diabetes screening using the Leicester Diabetes Risk Score: Six-monthly results from the Leicester Changing Diabetes programme

Aim: Leicester is the first UK city to join the Cities Changing Diabetes global programme. City stakeholders drive the direction of the programme. The aim is to present results from Type 2 diabetes screening events requested by professional sports clubs and employers in Leicester City.

Methods: Stakeholder meetings held between October 2017 and May 2018 included representatives from the four City professional sports clubs (football, rugby, basketball and cricket) and City employers. They requested Type 2 diabetes risk identification (screening) at their events. Trained staff from Leicester Diabetes Centre and the Centre for Black and Minority Health administered the Leicester Diabetes Risk Score (seven self-report questions). The validated scoring system assigns a low, medium, high and very high risk score to screeners. Events were promoted by the sports clubs (e.g. matchday programme, Twitter). Employee participation was supported by line managers.

Results: Between May and October 2018, 303 adults completed a risk score and received their result at six events including a Leicester City FC Premier League game, a senior league football game, a test cricket match, a large call-centres and the City Council. Overall, 43% were at high or very high risk. The workplace gave the largest number of screeners (46%) and proportion of at risk people (44%).

Conclusions: Professional sports clubs and employers are increasingly aware of the health of their fans, employees and the wider community. These are novel settings for screening events and are allowing new audiences to engage in Type 2 diabetes risk identification.