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Case Study: Connecting with community networks

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Name of project: Barnet Health Champions

Led by: Groundwork London, as part of Barnet Together Partnership, working with the London Borough of Barnet.

Summary: The Health Champions are a network of people who live, work or study in Barnet. Their role is to actively spread key messages on broad health topics to the wider Barnet community, and also share community perspectives and priorities with Public Health teams. Through direct communication and engagement with public health professionals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a culture of trust was established to maintain a two-way communication channel in order to respond to ongoing health needs effectively. Where messages were initially focused on COVID-19 guidance, the project now tackles barriers to healthy lifestyles and access to healthcare in general.

The situation: The project began as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was specifically focused on communities that were not receiving health information in traditional ways. It was felt that to communicate more effectively, it was necessary to get more direct feedback from people who were within and close to these communities. This was both relevant to building understanding of the situation on the ground (for example as to why covid cases were spiking in a particular locality), or to understand what barriers to vaccination might be.

Following the success of the approach, the project was broadened to focus on wider public health priorities and community concerns.

The approach: Currently over 250 Health Champions are located across all 24 wards in Barnet, representing a borough-wide communication network. Anyone aged 16+, who lives, works or studies in Barnet is eligible to register. Health Champions are provided with up-to-date health information in the form of digital infographics, newsletters and online information sessions, which then equips them to share information and facilitate conversations with other community members. This is a two-way communication process, allowing residents’ voices to be heard and reported back to the Groundwork team by the Champions, therefore directly informing public health learning and policy.

The implementation is based on the following communication strategies:

  • Shared space – Regular information sessions bring all Champions together to share resources, opinions and concerns.
  • Valued voice – Feedback from Champions is taken into account in every step of programme planning, from choosing a health topic to producing communication materials.
  • Options and flexibility: Multiple ways of providing health information to Health Champions are utilised, allowing substantial participation flexibility.

In early 2022, the focus of the programme shifted to health topics including vaccinations, living with COVID-19, mental health, cardiovascular disease, and childhood immunisations. The focus of the programme is shaped by LBB Public Health’s key focuses alongside the feedback from Health Champions themselves on their community’s priorities.

Details: The Barnet community is hugely diverse, with differing health inequalities across the borough. Maximising representation from all of the borough’s communities and demographic groups has therefore been a big part of the recruitment strategy. Leaflets and posters were delivered in-person to pharmacies, libraries and community centres to promote the Health Champion role, as well as advertising on the Volunteering Barnet website. As a result, nearly half of the Champions represent Asian, Black, and ethnic minority communities. A Welcome Pack toolkit was developed to introduce the programme’s process, expectations, ways of engagement and communications to all newly registered Champions.

Information sessions with the Champions are delivered online, fortnightly, during term time. They spotlight a particular topic or service/organisation, both informing and allowing for feedback and discussion on that topic. All presented slides, infographics and important health information are also shared and available to all in an easy-to-access Resource Bank to download or print out. Infographics are also distributed through WhatsApp broadcast, meaning the Champions have them immediately on their phones. Running frequent information sessions was only possible due to connections with a broad mix of health professionals and organisations who were willing to speak about diverse topics such as anxiety, smoking cessation, long covid, or winter viruses

Both during the pandemic and later, sessions have been deliberately reactive, based on what was most important at the time. This means that planning information sessions in advance or providing a monthly schedule is difficult. It has however meant that the team could be more responsive to topics that the Health Champions themselves want to focus on. For example, following requests by a number of Champions, the team invited a local GP and the Talking Therapies service to deliver a session on menopause. Surveys and focus groups inform the future direction of the programme based on changing needs and priorities.

The Health Champions are also part of creating new support opportunities. As the programme began to open up to broader health issues, many in the community reported mental health problems as a significant challenge. In response to this, a small number of Health Champions received training in mental health conditions and conversational skills and became the ‘Championing Mental Health’ group. Starting in October 2023, Mental Health Champions will run weekly drop-in sessions in two local libraries to offer a safe space to talk and signpost to mental health services across the borough.

Challenges: An early challenge was managing expectations around what the Health Champions' remit of influence was. It was a new style of engagement to connect Barnet residents so directly with LBB Public Health, particularly at a time when everything was uncertain. There wasn’t always understanding of LBB’s local powers, in contrast to national government agendas/guidelines. Many Health Champions felt that stronger measures should be in place and believed LBB could implement these. Time needed to be taken to distinguish what local teams did and didn’t have control over in order for Health Champions to be confident in their own level of influence.

Another challenge was the management of the WhatsApp group. During such a time of uncertainty, the WhatsApp group was susceptible to scaremongering messages (usually coming from a place of concern), and politicised criticisms of either national or local government. This was generally not acceptable, but also made others in the group feel uncomfortable. The solution was to put in place a code of conduct, which clearly set out the purpose of the group, as well as the boundaries, for example, avoiding political opinions, checking sources before sharing links, not seeking or providing medical advice and treating each other with respect. If a post was deemed inappropriate, the team would ask the sender to delete their message. The most effective change was editing the settings, so that ‘only admins’ could send messages when the group could not be monitored (e.g. at weekends).

Top lessons learned:

  1. Offering Health Champions multiple ways of being engaged and accessing information effectively maximized the potential usage of produced materials. The team produced diverse types of information (e.g. infographics, information shared in weekly Friday Facts), as well as making all materials available in a resource bank for ongoing use. By ensuring that a range of different communication approaches was used, the team broadened the effective reach of the programme.
  2. Two-way communication and receiving regular feedback were key to the team’s ability to respond to the changing needs of Health Champions, and to help them competently spread health messages in the community. One example was a focus group held with younger Health Champions to develop campaign materials encouraging their peers to get the COVID-19 vaccinations. These Health Champions understood the barriers young people were facing and were therefore able to effectively target the messaging, for example focusing on the incentive of travel as a key motivator to get vaccinated.


Sources:

Name of project: Barnet Health Champions

Led by: Groundwork London, as part of Barnet Together Partnership, working with the London Borough of Barnet.

Summary: The Health Champions are a network of people who live, work or study in Barnet. Their role is to actively spread key messages on broad health topics to the wider Barnet community, and also share community perspectives and priorities with Public Health teams. Through direct communication and engagement with public health professionals throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a culture of trust was established to maintain a two-way communication channel in order to respond to ongoing health needs effectively. Where messages were initially focused on COVID-19 guidance, the project now tackles barriers to healthy lifestyles and access to healthcare in general.

The situation: The project began as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was specifically focused on communities that were not receiving health information in traditional ways. It was felt that to communicate more effectively, it was necessary to get more direct feedback from people who were within and close to these communities. This was both relevant to building understanding of the situation on the ground (for example as to why covid cases were spiking in a particular locality), or to understand what barriers to vaccination might be.

Following the success of the approach, the project was broadened to focus on wider public health priorities and community concerns.

The approach: Currently over 250 Health Champions are located across all 24 wards in Barnet, representing a borough-wide communication network. Anyone aged 16+, who lives, works or studies in Barnet is eligible to register. Health Champions are provided with up-to-date health information in the form of digital infographics, newsletters and online information sessions, which then equips them to share information and facilitate conversations with other community members. This is a two-way communication process, allowing residents’ voices to be heard and reported back to the Groundwork team by the Champions, therefore directly informing public health learning and policy.

The implementation is based on the following communication strategies:

  • Shared space – Regular information sessions bring all Champions together to share resources, opinions and concerns.
  • Valued voice – Feedback from Champions is taken into account in every step of programme planning, from choosing a health topic to producing communication materials.
  • Options and flexibility: Multiple ways of providing health information to Health Champions are utilised, allowing substantial participation flexibility.

In early 2022, the focus of the programme shifted to health topics including vaccinations, living with COVID-19, mental health, cardiovascular disease, and childhood immunisations. The focus of the programme is shaped by LBB Public Health’s key focuses alongside the feedback from Health Champions themselves on their community’s priorities.

Details: The Barnet community is hugely diverse, with differing health inequalities across the borough. Maximising representation from all of the borough’s communities and demographic groups has therefore been a big part of the recruitment strategy. Leaflets and posters were delivered in-person to pharmacies, libraries and community centres to promote the Health Champion role, as well as advertising on the Volunteering Barnet website. As a result, nearly half of the Champions represent Asian, Black, and ethnic minority communities. A Welcome Pack toolkit was developed to introduce the programme’s process, expectations, ways of engagement and communications to all newly registered Champions.

Information sessions with the Champions are delivered online, fortnightly, during term time. They spotlight a particular topic or service/organisation, both informing and allowing for feedback and discussion on that topic. All presented slides, infographics and important health information are also shared and available to all in an easy-to-access Resource Bank to download or print out. Infographics are also distributed through WhatsApp broadcast, meaning the Champions have them immediately on their phones. Running frequent information sessions was only possible due to connections with a broad mix of health professionals and organisations who were willing to speak about diverse topics such as anxiety, smoking cessation, long covid, or winter viruses

Both during the pandemic and later, sessions have been deliberately reactive, based on what was most important at the time. This means that planning information sessions in advance or providing a monthly schedule is difficult. It has however meant that the team could be more responsive to topics that the Health Champions themselves want to focus on. For example, following requests by a number of Champions, the team invited a local GP and the Talking Therapies service to deliver a session on menopause. Surveys and focus groups inform the future direction of the programme based on changing needs and priorities.

The Health Champions are also part of creating new support opportunities. As the programme began to open up to broader health issues, many in the community reported mental health problems as a significant challenge. In response to this, a small number of Health Champions received training in mental health conditions and conversational skills and became the ‘Championing Mental Health’ group. Starting in October 2023, Mental Health Champions will run weekly drop-in sessions in two local libraries to offer a safe space to talk and signpost to mental health services across the borough.

Challenges: An early challenge was managing expectations around what the Health Champions' remit of influence was. It was a new style of engagement to connect Barnet residents so directly with LBB Public Health, particularly at a time when everything was uncertain. There wasn’t always understanding of LBB’s local powers, in contrast to national government agendas/guidelines. Many Health Champions felt that stronger measures should be in place and believed LBB could implement these. Time needed to be taken to distinguish what local teams did and didn’t have control over in order for Health Champions to be confident in their own level of influence.

Another challenge was the management of the WhatsApp group. During such a time of uncertainty, the WhatsApp group was susceptible to scaremongering messages (usually coming from a place of concern), and politicised criticisms of either national or local government. This was generally not acceptable, but also made others in the group feel uncomfortable. The solution was to put in place a code of conduct, which clearly set out the purpose of the group, as well as the boundaries, for example, avoiding political opinions, checking sources before sharing links, not seeking or providing medical advice and treating each other with respect. If a post was deemed inappropriate, the team would ask the sender to delete their message. The most effective change was editing the settings, so that ‘only admins’ could send messages when the group could not be monitored (e.g. at weekends).

Top lessons learned:

  1. Offering Health Champions multiple ways of being engaged and accessing information effectively maximized the potential usage of produced materials. The team produced diverse types of information (e.g. infographics, information shared in weekly Friday Facts), as well as making all materials available in a resource bank for ongoing use. By ensuring that a range of different communication approaches was used, the team broadened the effective reach of the programme.
  2. Two-way communication and receiving regular feedback were key to the team’s ability to respond to the changing needs of Health Champions, and to help them competently spread health messages in the community. One example was a focus group held with younger Health Champions to develop campaign materials encouraging their peers to get the COVID-19 vaccinations. These Health Champions understood the barriers young people were facing and were therefore able to effectively target the messaging, for example focusing on the incentive of travel as a key motivator to get vaccinated.


Sources:

Page last updated: 22 Nov 2023, 12:41 PM