Young people’s experiences of COVID-19 messaging at the start of the UK lockdown:Lessons for positive engagement and information sharing

BACKGROUND: To reduce COVID-19 infection rates during the initial stages of the pandemic, the UK Government mandated a strict period of restriction on freedom of movement or 'lockdown'. For young people, closure of schools and higher education institutions and social distancing rules may have been particularly challenging, coming at a critical time in their lives for social and emotional development. This study explored young people's experiences of the UK Government's initial response to the pandemic and related government messaging.METHODS: This qualitative study combines data from research groups at the University of Southampton, University of Edinburgh and University College London. Thirty-six online focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 150 young people (Southampton: n = 69; FGD = 7; Edinburgh: n = 41; FGD = 5; UCL: n = 40; FGD = 24). Thematic analysis was conducted to explore how young people viewed the government's response and messaging and to develop recommendations for how to best involve young people in addressing similar crises in the future. RESULTS: The abrupt onset of lockdown left young people shocked, confused and feeling ignored by government and media messaging. Despite this, they were motivated to adhere to government advice by the hope that life might soon return to normal. They felt a responsibility to help with the pandemic response, and wanted to be productive with their time, but saw few opportunities to volunteer.CONCLUSIONS: Young people want to be listened to and feel they have a part to play in responding to a national crisis such as the COVID-19 epidemic. To reduce the likelihood of disenfranchising the next generation, Government and the media should focus on developing messaging that reflects young people's values and concerns and to provide opportunities for young people to become involved in responses to future crises

Youth vaping: call for evidence

The increasing popularity of vaping amongst young people is alarming. Despite it being illegal for young people under the age of 18 to purchase and use vapes, it has been reported that 9% of English 11 to 15 year olds and 10% of Scottish S4 students do. Our work with young people and schools has revealed to us the growing concerns that both young people and teachers have, and begins to show the scale of the problem. Our research which demonstrates the consequences of poor health from a young age on future risk of disease and disability illustrates why providing an environment in which the next generation can thrive is so essential. The availability of resources for schools is limited at the moment, there is a PSHE lesson for year 9, and the upcoming OHID resource pack will be welcomed.1 We would recommend that all resources are co-created with young people, so that the messaging speaks to their values. We are co-producing a resource with our Youth Panel, which will include a VR experience and will be available by the start of the next academic year

Datasets for "A cluster-randomised controlled trial of the LifeLab education intervention to improve health literacy in adolescents"

This dataset supports the publication: Woods-Townsend, Kathryn et al. (2021). A cluster-randomised controlled trial of the LifeLab education intervention to improve health literacy in adolescents. PLOS ONE The dataset contains the answers to the original questions asked of the adolescents in this trial and derived variables needed for the analysis. A few variables have been removed from the original dataset, such as date of birth, to preserve confidentiality. Three versions of the dataset are available: an SPSS portable file (.por); a Stata data file (.dta); and an SPSS data file (.sav).</span

A cluster-randomised controlled trial of the LifeLab education intervention to improve health literacy in adolescents

Adolescence offers a window of opportunity during which improvements in health behaviours could benefit long-term health, and enable preparation for parenthood—albeit a long way off, passing on good health prospects to future children. This study was carried out to evaluate whether an educational intervention, which engages adolescents in science, can improve their health literacy and behaviours. A cluster-randomised controlled trial of 38 secondary schools in England, UK was conducted. The intervention (LifeLab) drew on principles of education, psychology and public health to engage students with science for health literacy, focused on the message “Me, my health and my children’s health”. The programme comprised: • Professional development for teachers. • A 2–3 week module of work for 13- 14-year-olds. • A “hands-on” practical health science day visit to a dedicated facility in a university teaching hospital. Data were collected from 2929 adolescents (aged 13–14 years) at baseline and 2487 (84.9%) at 12-month follow-up. The primary outcome was change in theoretical health literacy from pre- to 12 months post- intervention. This study is registered (ISRCTN71951436) and the trial status is complete. Participation in the LifeLab educational intervention was associated with an increase in the students’ standardised total theoretical health literacy score (adjusted difference between groups = 0.27 SDs (95%CI = 0.12, 0.42)) at 12-month follow-up. There was an indication that intervention participants subsequently judged their own lifestyles more critically than controls, with fewer reporting their behaviours as healthy (53.4% vs. 59.5%; adjusted PRR = 0.94 [0.87, 1.01]). We conclude that experiencing LifeLab led to improved health literacy in adolescents and that they demonstrated a move towards a more critical judgement of health behaviour 12 months after the intervention. Further work is needed to examine whether this leads to sustained behaviour change, and whether other activities are needed to support this chang

Additional file 1: of Engaging teenagers in improving their health behaviours and increasing their interest in science (Evaluation of LifeLab Southampton): study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial

Pre-questionnaire script. (PDF 66 kb

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Cost-utility, Metformin, Modelling, Rosiglitazone, Type-2-diabetes-mellitus

Engaging adolescents in changing behaviour (EACH-B): a study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial to improve dietary quality and physical activity.

BackgroundPoor diet and lack of physical activity are strongly linked to non-communicable disease risk, but modifying them is challenging. There is increasing recognition that adolescence is an important time to intervene; habits formed during this period tend to last, and physical and psychological changes during adolescence make it an important time to help individuals form healthier habits. Improving adolescents’ health behaviours is important not only for their own health now and in adulthood, but also for the health of any future children. Building on LifeLab - an existing, purpose-built educational facility at the University of Southampton - we have developed a multi-component intervention for secondary school students called Engaging Adolescents in Changing Behaviour (EACH-B) that aims to motivate and support adolescents to eat better and be more physically active.MethodsA cluster randomised controlled trial is being conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the EACH-B intervention. The primary outcomes of the intervention are self-reported dietary quality and objectively measured physical activity (PA) levels, both assessed at baseline and at 12-month follow-up. The EACH-B intervention consists of three linked elements: professional development for teachers including training in communication skills to support health behaviour change; the LifeLab educational module comprising in-school teaching of nine science lessons linked to the English National Curriculum and a practical day visit to the LifeLab facility; and a personalised digital intervention that involves social support and game features that promote eating better and being more active.Both the taught module and the LifeLab day are designed with a focus on the science behind the messages about positive health behaviours, such as diet and PA, for the adolescents now, in adulthood and their future offspring, with the aim of promoting personal plans for change. The EACH-B research trial aims to recruit approximately 2,300 secondary school students aged 12-13 years from 50 schools (the clusters) from Hampshire and neighbouring counties. Participating schools will be randomised to either the control or intervention arm. The intervention will be run during two academic years, with continual recruitment of schools throughout the school year until the sample size is reached. The schools allocated to the control arm will receive normal schooling but will be offered the intervention after data collection for the trial is complete. An economic model will be developed to assess the cost-effectiveness of the EACH-B intervention compared with usual schooling.DiscussionAdolescents’ health needs are often ignored and they can be difficult to engage in behaviour change. Building a cheap, sustainable way of engaging them in making healthier choices will benefit their long-term health and that of their future children.Trial registrationEACH-B is a cluster randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN 74109264, registered 30th August 2019), funded by the National Institute for Health Research (RP-PG-0216-20004). http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN74109264<br/

Evaluation of the expanded Southampton pilot study (Phase 2) for use of saliva-based lamp testing in asymptomatic populations: Final report, 16th November 2020

This report serves to describe the Southampton Phase 2 saliva testing programme. Separate to formal reporting requirements of the DHSC-funded service evaluation, the aim is for this report to provide a form of manual as guidance for any group that wishes to undertake similar testing.The report below begins with a general overview of the programme, but then more detailed sections follow relating to: the overall programme; the work in schools; and the work in the University.Further details are given in the annexes, as follows:1. Process maps of the entire testing system2. Instruction leaflet for providing a saliva sample3. “Google jam boards” containing the reflections of the teams on their work4. Communication team overview of the University students and staff experience5. Newsletters sent to schools each week6. Post-it notes from pupils at the secondary school giving their views on saliva testin