HEALTHY COMMUNITIES A SHARED CHALLENGE Lizanne Conway NHS

HEALTHY COMMUNITIES: A SHARED CHALLENGE Lizanne Conway NHS Health Scotland SURF OPEN FORUM 25 January 2007 Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

A Shared Challenge “We are taking a cross-cutting whole government approach to health improvement – putting health improvement in all our policies, and seeking to support all our policies by improving health”. Delivering A Healthy Scotland: Meeting the Challenge, Scottish Executive December 2006 Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Overview • Background to Task Group • Outputs and key highlights • Recommendations and actions • Next steps Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Background Improving Health in Scotland: The Challenge (2003) A strategic framework for health improvement in Scotland Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

“Community Pillar” Informal partnership response to Scottish Executive in 2003 Official Task Group established in September 2004 Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Membership • • • • Aberdeen City Council Association of Local Government Health Improvement Officers Big Lottery Fund Communities Scotland Community Health Exchange (CHEX) Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) Napier University – School of Community Health NHS Health Scotland Community Food and Health (Scotland) Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health Scottish Executive Departments Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) - CHAIR Voluntary Health Scotland Volunteer Development Scotland Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Role and Remit To recommend to Ministers how to take forward and strengthen community -led health improvement activities across Scotland that are designed to tackle inequalities in health Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Overarching Task Group Vision “ For communities to be empowered and supported in the development of initiatives and solutions for health improvement, both by taking action themselves and by playing a full part in broader partnerships. ”

Methods of Working Together Four more inclusive sub-groups: • Evidence and Measuring Success • Planning and Partnerships • Community Based Activities • Community Engagement Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Task Group Outputs Ministerial launch 12 Dec. 2006 • Main and summary reports • 5 individual papers and DVD • 12 recommendations All now available from: www. healthscotland. com Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Key Highlights Supporting and strengthening communityled health improvement in Scotland by building the evidence base Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Evidence from Research • • • Effective Community-led approaches tend to: Be open, responsive, and flexible Allow active individual participation and empowerment Recognise the central importance of mental wellbeing Promote a group approach Help people re-connect with their communities Directly tackle wider issues of local importance to health

Evidence from Practice Involvement in community-led health can: • Help increase confidence and sense of control • Assist in making new friendships and sense of belonging • Assist in skills and knowledge development • Help increase motivation, hopes, ambitions and a sense of purpose • Create a greater sense of security Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Evidence Challenges • Challenge of monitoring and evaluation practice – not fit for purpose • Tensions- funder interest versus information collection for longer term organisational learning and development • Concerns that insufficient robust evidence yet exists to fully understand replicate the health impact of community-led activity Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

COMMUNITY-LED HEALTH IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Building the evidence base 1 Use evaluation designs and methods that recognise the timescales and complexities involved in assessing and demonstrating the impact of community-led health activity. Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

COMMUNITY-LED HEALTH IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Building the evidence base 2 Identify and set out more clearly the links between objectives, inputs, outputs and outcomes, defining success in ways that reflect a broad view of health and its determinants. Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

COMMUNITY-LED HEALTH IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Building the evidence base 3 Work with the community and voluntary health sector to build a greater knowledge and understanding of what factors enable community health or act as barriers to it. Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Key Highlights Supporting and strengthening community-led health improvement in Scotland through effective planning and partnerships Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Health outcomes of effective partnerships • Influencing responsive services • Addressing service gaps • Supporting sustained and shared responsibility for health improvement • Supporting sustained health improvement across diverse communities of place and interest • Enhancing community and organisational relationships • Information and idea sharing and learning Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Successful Partnerships • Unambiguous structures and processes • Levels of community involvement are clear from outset • Sufficient resources • Appropriate monitoring and evaluation • Strong leadership • Recognised and shared health aims • Strategic and operational distinction and recognition in all processes and structures Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

COMMUNITY-LED HEALTH IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Effective planning and partnership 4 Make health improvement planning more effective in engaging communities at all levels and more flexible in allowing them to identify their own priorities. Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

COMMUNITY-LED HEALTH IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Effective planning and partnership 5 Support the community and voluntary health sector in informing and relating to national priorities, applying the principles of the Scottish Compact. Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

COMMUNITY-LED HEALTH IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Effective planning and partnership 6 Embed the National Standards for Community Engagement and NHS draft guidance Informing, Engaging and Consulting the Public in the practice of all sectors. Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Key Highlights Supporting and strengthening community-led health improvement in Scotland by building capacity Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

COMMUNITY-LED HEALTH IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Capacity-building 7 Invest in capacity-building for both the voluntary and community health sector and the public sector. Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

COMMUNITY-LED HEALTH IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Capacity-building 8 Recognise the role of intermediary bodies in community-led health improvement and resource them. Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

COMMUNITY-LED HEALTH IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Capacity-building 9 Recognise and strengthen support for the role of volunteers and volunteering in communityled health improvement. Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Key Highlights Supporting and strengthening community-led health improvement in Scotland by learning lessons to ensure sustainability Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

COMMUNITY-LED HEALTH IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Sustainability 11 Build on the lessons from existing practice to provide improved infrastructural support and put in place appropriate strategic and operational frameworks for the long-term sustainability of community-led health improvement activity. Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

COMMUNITY-LED HEALTH IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Next steps 12 Build on the success of partnership working in the Task Group and create a new national group to oversee the implementation of the Task Group’s recommendations following their joint ministerial endorsement. Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Next Steps • First meeting Steering group 22 January 2007 • Chaired by Kay Barton, Head of Health Improvement Strategy Division, Scottish Executive • Action plan now being developed – using task group materials • To report to Ministers by end of year • Scottish Executive depts. , Communities Scotland, Health Scotland, CHEX, VHS, Scottish Health Council, CHPs and SOLACE/COSLA represented • Short term group, but long term solutions required • Require time and resources to develop with input and commitment from all working locally and nationally • Communication will continue via quarterly newsletters from Health Scotland dedicated web pages. • Commitment to listening and wider involvement is high

Message from Launch “Actions speak louder than words. The implementation group needs to have teeth. ” Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group

Thank you More information, please contact: Lizanne Conway NHS Health Scotland lizanne. conway@health. scot. nhs. uk Community-Led Supporting and Developing Healthy Communities Task Group