International Festival of Public Health

LT 3 - Health Promotion and Improvement

GULP 'Give Up Loving Pop'

Presenter: Robin Ireland, University of Salford

Other author(s): Abdul Razzaq, Nicola Calder

Abstract Text:

Aims: GULP 'Give Up Loving Pop' is a public facing campaign aiming to:1- Build public support to combat the prevalence of sugary drinks.

2-Spread the word about the detrimental effects on health.

3-Pioneer the cause of a 20% duty on sugary drinks.

Design: The campaign is developed by Food Active a North West (NW) Healthy Weight Collaborative, commissioned and funded by NW Directors of Public Health. Insight data from across the region, collated by Liverpool John Moores University, indicates that individuals fail to make the link with sugary drinks intake and obesity.Launched using roadshows across the NW; GULP uses a strong visual campaign, factual information and social media to demonstrate the harm associated with excessive consumption of sugary drinks. Setting North West of England, population approximately 7 million. The campaign is targeted at children, young people and families. Evidence shows that the majority of the population are exceeding sugar intake, with teenagers intakes over 50% more than recommended. The biggest contributor is sugary drinks.

Participants:22 local authorities across the NW,Food Active stakeholders including public health practitioners, academics and third sector representative and communities across the NW.

Results:Over 2,400 conversations with the public,extensive local and national radio media coverage in addition to GULP website: 5,847 page views ,GULP Twitter: Tweet Impressions: 61378

Conclusions:Further to its evaluation GULP is currently under review to consider how it can be developed further within Local Authorities to cascade the campaign messages wider and consider development of a range of tools.

Increasing organ donation in the North West South Asian community through targeted education

Presenter: Agimol Pradeep, Central Manchester University Hospital

Other Author(s): Paula Ormanady and Titus Augustine

Abstract Text: Organ donation continues to be low among ethnic minorities especially within the South Asian (SA) community, with a disproportionate number of SA people waiting for transplants because suitable matches are often found between people of same ethnic group. A two phased, sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach was underpinned by health belief model theory which seeks to explore, identify and overcome the barriers to increase the number of SA organ donor registrants (ODR's) and actual donors in the North West of England using and measuring the impact of different education approaches. Phase 1 Questionnaire survey (n=907) and in-depth interviews (n=10) to understand SA beliefs, barriers and awareness of organ donation. Phase 2 Implementation of education approaches: (1) Education and training of Specialist Nurse for Organ Donation to develop skills/confidence to approach SA families for cadaver organ donation, measured by 12-month before/after audit of cadaver organs. (2) Education from the General Practioner's. (3) Peer education at SA community events, impact measured by number of new ODR's. Out of 907 South Asian people sampled, 55% did not know about organ donation, they lacked knowledge, mistrusted health professionals, and were misinformed regarding religious objections, despite 88% having higher education. Over 24 months, 2874 SA new ODR's were successfully recruited through peer education at 289 community events by a passionate, committed SA health professional. The research provides a deeper understanding of the reasons for the scarcity of SA organ donors gathered from what is currently the largest UK data set of SA perspectives.

Using linked data to estimate the relationship between physical activity and health

Presenter: Brenda Gannon, University of Manchester

Other author(s): Alastair Hall

Abstract text: Physical activity and Health is currently high on the inter-departmental agenda, including the Public Health England (2014) strategy, Everybody Active, Every Day. There is therefore considerable debate about the relationship between physical activity and health, with policy makers asserting that an increase in participation in exercise will lead to higher aggregate levels of health. However empirical evidence has been limited by the lack of data available to control for the impact of reverse causation between health and physical activity. Measuring this effect is complicated by unobserved individual-specific factors that affect both physical activity and health. There is a need for both econometric models and methods that take account of this feature and sufficiently rich individual level data. Using seed funding from the University of Manchester ESRC Transformative Research Fund, we aim to solve this problem. We create a unique dataset using UK data from Understanding Society and Sport England, allowing us to use local authority level information as proxies for physical activity. This facilitates the estimation of an econometric model to provide more precise estimates of the effect of physical activity on health. Key health variables are self-assessed health (SF12 PCS and MCS), hypertension and cardiovascular events. Physical activity is measured by detailed questions on the frequency of participation in physical activity in the past year and on specific questions on minutes spent walking in the last week. We put forward recommendations for future data collection and measurement of physical activity, in line with the World Health Organisation recommendations.

‘Doctor,I want to start the pill…’

Presenter: Aalaa Jawad, North Central Deanery

Abstract Text: The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health (FSRH) have clear guidelines on initiating combined hormonal contraception. The aim of this study is to improve the recording of observations by GP's in a London practice.MethodsWe conducted a before and after interventional study over six months. We analysed the recording of blood pressure (BP) and body mass index (BMI) at the initial prescription and subsequent monitoring. We developed and implemented a new self-monitoring system as our intervention. Data was analysed by an independent sample Fisher's and Chi 2 test.Results There were 50 participants in the before sample group and 30 in the after group. 72% of GP's in the before group recorded BP in comparison to 83% in the second group (p= 0.290). Additionally, 58% recorded BMI compared to 50% in the second group (p=0.642). There was a less than 50% continuation of the contraceptive method at three months in both groups. At the follow up consultation 79% and 77% respectively recorded the BP but this was not found to be statistically significant. ConclusionUsing a self-monitoring system was not found to be statistically significant in the recording of observations recommended by the FSRH. We would recommend establishing a set template for GPs which includes the initial observations and those required at the three month follow up consultation. Patient education and counselling regarding contraceptive compliance must be a public health priority even in the general practice setting to prevent the complications of unplanned pregnancy.