Creating a ‘Health Promoting Curriculum’ to inform the development of a health promoting university : a case study

Objective: Final year undergraduate students, undertaking a health promotion module, were asked to reflect on their experiences of contributing to the strategic development of a health promoting university. As part of this module students were engaged in carrying out a health needs assessment(HNA) in order to inform the development of a health promoting university and enhance the curriculum. Design: This case study was conducted with forty students, and used un-moderated focus groups (n = 9) where students recorded their experiences of carrying out a HNA. Results: Key findings of the students’ refl ections(rather than of the health needs assessment) are presented in this paper. Students reported that by carrying out a HNA they: developed an understanding of the links between theory and practice; developed communication and networking skills; found the assessment meaningful; welcomed the opportunity to make a difference; could identify improvements that could have been made, along with challenges to carrying out their work and health gains. Conclusion: This study has shown how the student learning experience has been enhanced, whilst at the same time the university (and potentially the wider community) will potentially benefi t from the HNA that was carried out. Ultimately, the students were able to ‘reach the parts that other researchers can’t reach’, i.e. explore complex issues amongst their fellow peers

Barriers to employment for visually impaired women

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers to employment for visually impaired (VI) women and potential solutions to those barriers. Design/methodology/approach – Mixed methods, comprising three phases; first, exploratory interviews with VI women (n=6) and employers (n=3); second, a survey to assess the barriers to employment experienced by this group (n=96); and third, in-depth interviews with VI women (n=15). This paper reports phases 2 and 3. Findings – The most commonly reported barriers to work were: negative employer attitudes; the provision of adjustments in the workplace; restricted mobility; and having an additional disability/health condition. Significantly more barriers were reported by women: who reported that their confidence had been affected by the barriers they had experienced; with dependents under 16; and women who wanted to work. Research limitations/implications – Key solutions to these barriers included: training for employers; adaptive equipment; flexibility; better support; training and work experience opportunities; and more widely available part-time employment opportunities. Originality/value – This paper adds to the literature in respect of the key barriers to employment for VI women, together with providing key solutions to these barriers

Developing new community health roles : can reflective learning drive professional practice?

A variety of new non-professional roles, such as health trainers and community food workers, have evolved from recent UK public health policy developments. These roles predominantly operate in communities characterised by extreme social deprivation. Their remit is to offer local people support to help change lifestyle ‘choices’, for example, healthy eating or drinking responsibly. However, encouraging people to change health-related behaviour often ignores the underlying social determinants of health related behaviour. Health trainers and community food workers have been identified as being able to bridge the gap between the health professional and lay person, because of their ability to identify with local people. The challenges faced by these non-professionals, working at the coal-face of communities, and in a new and evolving role, are as yet poorly understood and this paper details the mechanism of reflective learning adopted by these practitioners in order to explore the professional practices involved. Emergent issues faced by these new practitioners include: understanding the boundaries between the trainer role and other health services; and the issues raised by the community, for example, presenting with non-health reasons such as financial crisis, which the trainers were often unprepared to deal with, rather than ‘lack of health skills’ (e.g. cooking skills). This paper explores how reflective learning processes can deconstruct the experiences of this ‘new level of the health workforce’ who have on the one hand the sensibility and sensitivity to develop relationships with individuals and households in poorer communities, yet are ill equipped to deal with the wider structural factors often determining behaviour

Working as a community food worker : voices from the inside

Aims: Community food worker (CFW) is one of the new roles that were proposed in the 2004 White Paper Choosing Health: Making Healthier Choices Easier. CFWs are recruited from local communities and generally operate in areas characterized by extreme social deprivation. The aim of this paper is to illuminate the experience of being a CFW in the context of working in a relatively new non-professional role. Methods: As part of an ongoing evaluation of a CFW scheme in the north west of England, a qualitative interview and two focus groups were conducted with CFWs. Thematic analysis of the data was undertaken. Results: Emergent issues faced by these new practitioners include: the nature of their role; quantifying success; working with other health professionals; skills and knowledge; and strategies used to work with communities. Conclusion: This study has highlighted some pertinent and previously unreported issues related to the experience of being a CFW, raising questions about their assimilation into the public health workforce and their use in delivering effective public health interventions without further integration