Community Health Champions
In November 2008 Sheffield Well-being Consortium was successful in securing a three year contract with Sheffield City Council to establish, maintain and support a participant led network that empowers volunteer ‘Community Health Champions’, recruited from Sheffield’s most deprived neighbourhoods, to improve the health and well-being of their communities. Health Champions are recruited to work within their community to promote healthy eating, physical activity and mental well-being through a range of activities.
The Sheffield Well-being Consortium Hub has three members of staff who work on the Health Champions programme. Nigel West is the Network Co-ordinator of the programme: he plays the key role in supporting the development of this project and in enabling the volunteer Health Champions to fulfil their potential. Lisa Cox is the Community Health Champions Project Worker. Rachael Needham is the Community Health Champions Project Worker and Administrator.
This programme has currently given 24 member organisations the opportunity to deliver the project within communities of interest and neighbourhoods across the city. Due to the nature of the programme and the need to reach communities at the neighbourhood level, many smaller community organisations have had the opportunity of securing funding through Sheffield Well-being Consortium to deliver the Health Champions project locally.
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Outputs and outcomes |
To date |
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Total number of Health Champions recruited |
Over 300
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Total number of Health Champions obtained paid work |
Over 70 |
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Total number of people Health Champions have worked with in Sheffield’s least healthy communities |
Over 14,000 |
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Total amount of hours voluntary work Health Champions have completed |
Over 20,000 |
The outcomes of the programme will be measured in a number of ways as follows:
We are gathering qualitative data about the impact that the programme has made to the lives of Health Champions themselves (this can be seen in our ‘case stories’for example, some of which are available on the website). This can also be seen by listening to some of the Health Champions speak about their experiences. Quantitative data is collected through baseline and exit questionnaires. An "Impact Map" using Social Return an Investment Methodology (on the website) and we are working with Sheffield Hallam Univeristy to capture the impact the Champions have on the people they support.
The success of the initial three-year programme has led to further funding from Sheffield City Council, NHS Sheffield and BIG Lottery which has allowed the programme to recruit a further 111 Health Champions between October 2011 and March 2013. We are currently in discussions about continuing the programme into 2013-14.
In addition to the “core” programme, Health Champions have also made major contributions to a number of specific projects. These include;
- Supporting people with Type 2 Diabetes in Darnall and Sharrow (funded by Dept of Health, an evaluation report on this successful project is due in 2012)
- “Asset Mapping” communities in Firth Park and Sharrow
- “Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond” Health Champions, supporting new and expectant parents (see item on this website)
- Supporting people to undertake on-line Health Checks
- Support to the Slovak Roma community
- Contributing to Sheffield’s “Warm Homes, Healthy People” work during winter early 2012.
Some of the key factors are:
- A strong emphasis on the development and training of the Health Champions themselves. Each Champion has a Personal Development Plan to identify training needs, this is backed up by a significant training budget.
- A delivery model where the local voluntary sector host organisation is responsible for recruitment and activity planning, while a small team at the Well-being Consortium provide coordination, support, quality assurance and contract management.
- Community members are seen as assets rather than problems.
- Health Champions comment that they feel trusted and valued; for some this is an experience they have never had before!
The project has already reached 14,000 people and volunteers have contributed 20,000 hours of work. It is making a huge difference in communities across the City. Sustaining this programme is likely to be cost-effective if it reduces the costs to the NHS of treating long-term conditions resulting from obesity and other factors such as smoking. A salutary example is that the cost of running this programme for 2 ½ years, is equivalent to the cost of just 3 months’ missed appointments at one hospital!
The Altogether Better Programme www.altogetherbetter.org.uk has produced three evidence reviews, and shorter ‘practice friendly’ summaries, on the following topics:
- Empowerment and health & well-being
- Community health champions
- Mental health and employment
Produced by the Centre for Health Promotion Research at Leeds Metropolitan University, we hope these resources will be a valuable source of evidence for both practice and policy. A thematic evaluation based of Altogether Better Projects in Yorkshire and Humber (including Sheffield) has also been produced. The evidence reviews, summaries and thematic evaluation can be downloaded from:
http://bit.ly/ABevidence
- For more information on the Programme please contact Nigel West; nigel@sheffieldwellbeing.org.uk, 0114 2270545.
- New Publicity (Sept 2011) - Click on the following links to download the new publicity material for the Health Champions programme: Download 1 Health Champion Case Story Booklet no.2 Download 2 Health Champion Leaflet
- Sheffield Health Champion Evaluation Report - Click on the following links to read the evaluation report and see the Impact Map for the Sheffield Community Community Health Champions Programme, based on the principles of 'Social Return on Investment': Download 1 Impact Map Report Download 2 Impact Map
- Health Champion Event Report March 2011 - Click on the link to download the report from the March 2011 Health Champions Event at Don Valley Stadium.
- Altogether Better is a five-year, region wide collaborative programme funded through the BIG Lottery Well-being Fund that aims to empower people across the Yorkshire & Humber region to lead healthier lives. To download the Altogether Better newsletters visit the Useful Links page on our website. Read more about the Programme at: www.altogetherbetter.org.uk
- The Sheffield – Let’s Change4Life Programme is an ambitious initiative which aims to prevent obesity in children, young people and families through shifting attitudes and culture in the city at all levels and by delivering a range of universal and targeted prevention activities which focus on individuals, families, children’s centres, schools and communities across Sheffield. www.sheffieldc4l.org.uk
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Sheffield Your Health Matters - Just one small change. Improve your health or show someone you care about theirs. Visit Sheffield Your Health Matters www.yhmsheffield.org.uk
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Health Champion Event Report 2012 - Please see attachment of the report below from the October 2012 Health Champions Event at Pondsforge.
| Attachment | Date | Size |
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 Health Champions Event -Oct 2012 REPORT.pdf | 12/12/12 3:13 pm | 598.71 KB |
