healthwatch young influencers

Report 2018-19

Healthwatch Young Influencers

2Healthwatch Tower Hamlets

Healthwatch Young Influencers

To make sure our engagement strategies were effective we established the Young

Influencers, a group of young volunteers who steer our youth engagement

programme. As a result of our preliminary work, the Young Influencers received NHS

Digital funding to test mechanisms to digitally engage young people in co-designing

services based on a rewards system.

We have now commissioned the BetterPoints digital platform to reward young

people for participating in co-design workshops, surveys, and discussions, as well as

receive health and wellbeing information via direct message and log healthy

activities.

Where did we start?

Over the past year, Healthwatch Tower Hamlets has prioritised

finding new and innovative ways to engage with young people in

the co-design and co-production of health services aimed at

meeting their needs. We have worked with a diverse group of

young people to identify the best tools by which to do so. Young

people identified the following needs:

Any engagement tactic must be quick and straightforward

A digital platform should be utilised to lower barriers to

participation

Young people should be incentivised for participating

Young people should know that what they do will make a

difference to local services


Established the Healthwatch Young

Influencers, a group of 12 volunteers to

design surveys, draft messages, and

establish the strategic direction of

Healthwatch engagement for BAME young

people in Tower Hamlets

Interviewed over 30 young people on their

approaches to food and food culture,

particularly focussing on their perspectives

of food choices and Diabetes in Tower

Hamlets

Rolled out a digital survey in two local

schools focussing on mental health,

reaching over 130 participants in three

days.

Held workshops focussing on digital and in-

person health tools, determining what

would encourage young people to use local

services.

Conducted a digital peer research survey

focussing on how young people are

supported to plan for their future and

how it contributes to mental health,

interviewing 150 young people

Partnered with BetterPoints digital

platform to provide an easy way for young

people to engage and be rewarded for their

participation.


Age

Gender Ethnicity

13secondary schools across

Tower Hamlets

Female, 49.52%

Male, 50.48%

122%

133%

146%

156%

1631%

1727%

1817%

196%

20+2%

White British6%

Asian and White

2%Black British

6%

Black African

3%

Indian4%

Pakistani3%

Bangladeshi67%

Black Caribbean and White

1%

Black African and

White1%

Prefer not to say2%

Other5%

575hours volunteered by

Young Influencers

Who are the young

people we have

worked with?


What’s Next?

We have exciting plans for 2019!

Working with colleagues at Public

Health and London Borough of Tower

Hamlets Local Authority, the

Healthwatch Young Influencers will be

involved in co-designing an upcoming

Trailblazer project. The Trailblazer is

a mental health and wellbeing

programme that will be implemented

in schools over the next year.

Mental health has been identified by

our young people as the health

challenge that worries them the

most, as well as a key issue where

they see a gap in support, so we’re

excited to contribute to programmes

that will combat this issue.

Using our digital platform, together

with a series of co-design workshops

and engagement sessions, the Young

Influencers, alongside mental health

colleagues, will help to shape the

Trailblazer programme from an early

stage.

In the future, we will be able to

utilise the BetterPoints platform to

engage with young people and

produce co-designed services on any

topic!

We have engaged with nearly 500young people to learn more about their priorities and needs in terms of health and wellbeing services.


Incentivising young people to engage with us means that we are able to work

with a broad range of diverse young people with different needs.

Young people see Mental Health as an umbrella issue that impacts the rest of

their day to day lives, as well as other health issues.

Young people still struggle to access mental health support, both because they

are unfamiliar with available support and because they often lack familial

support.

Young people are also hesitant to access the support they are familiar with, as

they don’t feel that mental health professionals have an adequate understanding

of their stressors, or they feel condescended to.

Confidentiality is a key concern for young people, they want to be 100% sure

they can access services in a confidential manner.

The pressure to plan for the future and succeed is a factor in young people’s

mental health, and many young people have accessed support as a direct result.

What have we learned?

Youth services, such as youth centres, are

underutilised, and young people would be

encouraged to use them if they were better

advertised and offered a wider variety of

support.

Many BAME young people, particularly

Bangladeshi, see Diabetes as an inevitable

disease, and are unaware of ways in which

they can prevent the disease.


.

Project Summaries


We interviewed 32 young people for the

‘Chicken Shop Dilemma’, a survey

investigated the diets and food choices of

youth in Tower Hamlets.

What we found:

Half of respondents eat fast food at least

one a week.

Nearly two-thirds eat sweets daily.

Cost of food is paramount – fast food is

cheaper than healthier options, which

makes young people more likely to

choose it.

Peer pressure and social situations

increase fast food intake – young people

eat what their friends do.

Half of young people thought they were

prone to Diabetes, but very few were

actively taking steps to improve their

diet and lifestyle.

Many young see Diabetes as inevitable

because of family illness, as opposed to

the result of unhealthy dieting.

Young People consider prevention of

Diabetes something they have to do in

the future, rather than a current

priority.

“The price of PFC [Perfect Fried Chicken}

is just so low that it is really hard for you

to choose anything else over it. Nothing

beats the amount you get for a pound.”

Food Culture

“We know that chicken shops are bad,but everyone eats there anyway. It’s thecheapest, quickest, and easiest optionfor a snack, and its what all your friendseat.”

“Everyone knows that Diabetes is badfor you, but its just inevitable. And eventhough I know I’m at high risk forDiabetes, I just really like fizzy drinks,or my mum keeps unhealthy food in thehouse, so what am I going to do?”

We focused on Diabetes and young peoples

perspectives in these interviews as it is a

growing concern for our young Bangladeshi

population in Tower Hamlets. Type 2

Diabetes is already high, and is estimated

to increase significantly in the borough in

coming years.

Surprisingly, the young people we spoke to

who thought they ate a balanced diet were

more likely to also report eating fast food

weekly or more. Those who didn’t feel that

they ate a balanced diet were more likely

to eat sweets daily.

Those who thought they had a balanced

diet and those who thought they did not

saw themselves as equally prone to

diabetes. The differences in diet reflection

speaks to the idea that young people know

that large amounts of sweet foods are not

good for you, but that there is still a lack of

education about how savoury food can also

be very unhealthy.

Participants also seemed well-versed in

what they SHOULD be eating and doing in

order to live healthy lives and reduce their

risk of Diabetes.

“I know I have to work to prevent

[Diabetes], but like, when I’m older.”

“If Diabetes is in your genes, I don’t

think you can prevent it.”


Our work clearly shows that just like any

other population, it is not a one-size-fits-all

for young people and mental health. While

some people would only like to access

support from a close friend or family

member who knows them, others want to

speak to a professional in a private space.

Young people told use that they lack

confidence in talking about mental health

so we asked about some specific digital

tools to gauge whether this was received

positively. Tools that supported young

people to track their emotions were looked

on favorably, and some young people felt

that an app would help with confidentiality

concerns. Others felt that an app would not

prove effective, or did not seem useful.

Young people were also positive about the

concept of online communities of young

people to speak about mental health

and/or the ability to have a 1-2-1 chat with

a professional online. Once again, these

type of support systems young people felt

would help maintain their confidentiality

and/or anonymity while still providing them

with support.

The feedback we received was robust and

diverse. It is essential that any mental

health services developed in the borough

fit the needs of a diverse range of young

people, from peer support to digital tools to

in-person professional support.

We produced a digital survey in two schools

in Tower Hamlets, reaching over 130

students to get their perspectives on

mental health.

What we learned:

A third of participants have never

discussed their mental health with

anyone, and nearly half of boys have

never discussed it with anyone.

Close friends are considered the best

people to talk to about mental

wellbeing, followed by family members.

More than half of young people have

looked up mental health information

online.

Young people want to access mental

health support in a GP surgery or

integrated youth health centre.

Confidentiality is considered very

important when accessing mental

health services.

Boys were much more likely than girls

to believe that they don’t need mental

health resources, describing themselves

as being ‘in good mental health’ or ‘not

struggling.’

Young people often feel like they can

only seek support at a crisis point, not

before.

Support for mental health in schools

varies widely across the borough.

Young people feel that mental health is

particularly stigmatized in the

Bangladeshi community – ‘they just tell

you to stop feeling sad and cheer up’

Mental Health

“[Online support] is a step towards

bettering my mental health and being able

to speak to someone anonymously and get

advice and find people dealing with similar

issues. That would give me the courage to

speak up and seek help for myself.”

“I prefer talking to family and close friends as

I feel more secure and happy to talk to them

about personal topics like wellbeing.”

“I would use an app because it seems likea good way to control and track my mentalhealth without having to find aprofessional to talk to in person as I amthe kind of person who finds it difficult toexplain my emotions to someone. The appis a way to watch my mental health in asimple way that wouldn’t stress me out asmuch.”

“I don’t feel comfortable talking to someone – particularly an adult, because I feel like they’re.. Like. Just going to discount my feelings as hormones or being a teenager”


As part of Health Week 2019, the Young

Influencers hosted a workshop with local

students to discuss issues in health, talk

about available services and what is lacking

in terms of digital tools.

What we learned:

Young people are overwhelmingly

unfamiliar with available digital health

tools.

Young people would still prefer to

access in-person health services over

digital health tools, and still want to be

able to speak to their own GPs.

Young people are open but wary about

digital health tools – they want to know

exactly how they will be helped, and

why its better than the original health

services.

There is widespread confusion about

what age you can make GP

appointments and/or go to

appointments on your own.

Confidentiality is, as ever, a key

concern for young people, and they do

not feel it is taken into account enough

in service design.

Young people struggle to navigate

services in Tower Hamlets, both

digitally and in-person. Services are

difficult to find and understand.

Young people will not naturally use

digital health tools in an ongoing

manner – they are more likely to only

use a tool when they think they have an

issue, not as monitoring.

Young people want to know how they

can access appointments without

drawing attention to themselves.

Young People are largely unaware of the

majority of youth health services in the

borough – with the exception of Step

Forward.

Girls would prefer to access mental

health at a youth health hub, while

boys would prefer to go to their GP.

Our workshop was also a learning

experience as we took baseline and endline

survey questions, asking young people

about their opinions of GPs and youth

health hubs, as well as their opinions of

utilising online services. Our workshop

showed that young people had learned

about some new tools that they would

consider using in the future, and had also

gained some confidence in utilising services

in the borough.

Digital & In-person Health Services

“Sure I’d look online or at one of the apps

I just wanted to learn, but how would

they help me with a specific problem?”

“How do I know who I’m talking to

[online], when I could be talking to my

own GP?”


Between March and May 2019, using peer

researchers and a digital survey, we asked

young people about their views on planning

for their future, mental health and the

stressors in their lives.

In our survey we found that many young

people have received general information

and support in terms of planning for their

future, but feel generally unsupported and

unable to access personalised information.

This contributes to their stress which in

turn negatively affects their mental health.

We found that young people are interested

in, or are already seeking support and

guidance from, religious centres, the

internet, or youth centres, as the generic

support they typically receive from school is

not enough to alleviate that stress.

We also administered the Warwick-

Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale

(WEMWBS) Short Version to gain a baseline

understanding of the mental wellbeing of

participants.

What we learned:

Young people are largely receiving

general information about options for

their future, but lack specific support

and advice.

Youth centres are underutilised in the

borough, with over half of young people

not having attended, or only having

attended a centre once.

Young people want a variety of

recreational activities and support for

their futures at youth centres.

Young people overwhelmingly agree

that stressing about the future

contributes to poor mental health, and

that additional support could help

alleviate this issue.

Over half of young people have thought

about accessing mental health services,

but fewer had followed through.

According to the WEMWBS scale, young

people in Tower Hamlets have a

wellbeing score that places them in the

bottom 61-80% of the national average.

Planning for your future

9.02%

1.64%

17.21%14.75%

8.20%

22.13%

27.05%

Mental health Physical health Pressure fromfamily

Pressure fromschool

Pressure fromfriends

Financial worries Worry aboutsucceeding in the

future

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing you in the foreseeable future?

Schools try to be supportive [in terms

of mental health], but all the stress

comes from school anyway

“I’ve had a meeting with a career

counsellor, but she didn’t come across

in the right way. It was liked she had

already decided what I was going to do

with my life. She put me in a box,

because its only related to my grades,

not anything else.”

If you aren’t high achieving you’re kindof ignored. It’s hard to break out of thecategory they put you into at school.And if you’re stuck like that, then kidsthink that gangs are the only thingthey can do for the rest of their lives.”

Have your say

Share your ideas and experiences and help

services hear what works, what doesn’t, and

what you want from care in the future.

www.healthwatchlocal.co.uk

t: 03000 683 000

e: [email protected]


ConclusionOver the past year we have gathered a

large and diverse range of insights from

young people in Tower Hamlets. We have

gathered their perspectives on everything

from food choices to violence to sexual

health to mental wellbeing.

We have learned that young people do not

feel well supported to access the services

they want and that many of the services in

the borough do not fit their needs. We have

also learned that by incentivising young

people to share their views, as well as

making participation as easy and digital as

possible, we hear from a broader range of

young people.

Over the next six months, our aim is to

continue this work by using our engagement

platform to support young people to co-

design local health services with our Tower

Hamlets Together partners.

By lowering the barriers to participation,

and incentivising engagement, we can

support a diverse range of young people to

engage in co-production and therefore

create services that fit the needs of the

youth of Tower Hamlets.

We encourage our colleagues across the

sector to support us in growing this

platform, to create a space where young

people feel that they have a voice in

making sure services meet their needs.

Have your say

Have a question? Want to learn more about the Healthwatch Young

Influencers? Please contact us at [email protected]

healthwatch young influencers

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