Managing health and increasing well-being

The Building the Community-Pharmacy Partnership has worked to improve local health outcomes by encouraging members of the community to develop skills relating to managing their own health, and providing accessible information on the availability of services of which they can avail of. The aim is to facilitate local people to gain knowledge on various health issues through books, videos, leaflets and enable the most vulnerable and in need to access additional support through the pharmacy to complementary therapy. Outcome: A room in the pharmacy has been renovated and offers access to other support services. Funding has allowed the pharmacist to equip the room with videos, leaflets, books etc. There has been an increase in partnership working between the community group, pharmacist and more contact has been made with primary care. Further funding has allowed for the development of a subsidised support referral service for counselling and complementary therapies. As well as this, the pharmacist has worked with local groups to provide information sessions on lifestyle and on health issues identified by the local groups

New interactive resource feeds children's curiosity

The Public Health Agency and safefood today (Wednesday 22 June) officially launched Eat, Taste and Grow, a new interactive curriculum based education resource to help increase awareness among primary school children of the origins of their food, local produce and the role this plays in healthy eating. As research in 2006 showed, 18% of children aged 2-15 years in Northern Ireland were reported to be obese; and provisional data in 2008-2009 showed that 22.5% of children entering Year 1 were already overweight (17%) or obese (5%).* The launch of Eat, Taste and Grow is an innovative collaboration between the PHA and safefood that will provide children with lifelong lessons about the food they eat, healthy eating options and the benefits of an active lifestyle.The free teacher-led CD-ROM resource will be sent to every primary school across Northern Ireland by September 2011 and will help increase awareness among primary school children of the origins of their food and local produce, and the role this plays in healthy eating.Speaking at the event, Health Minister Edwin Poots said: "Being obese as a child can store up problems for the future, leading to a reduction in life expectancy and potentially causing other health problems such as increased risk of coronary heart disease, cancer and Type 2 Diabetes."Currently around one in four girls and one in six boys in Primary One (Year 1) are overweight or obese."Many of our children are not as physically active as they should be, nor do they have a healthy, balanced diet."This new resource will help teachers in our primary schools educate children on how to choose what foods are healthier for them which hopefully they will carry with them into adulthood."Dr Eddie Rooney, Chief Executive, PHA said: "The Public Health Agency recognises the need to give every child a healthy start in life. Schools play a vital role in contributing to the development of knowledge and skills necessary to make healthier food choices and laying the foundation for good eating habits which can then be carried through into adulthood. Eat, Taste and Grow is an excellent resource that will help equip teachers to carry out this role and in turn enable children to make healthier choices."Mr Martin Higgins, CEO safefood said: "We know and understand the challenges faced by parents to encourage children to eat healthy foods. As obesity among children continues to rise, this interactive resource will educate children in a fun and engaging way while providing them with the information to make informed, responsible choices throughout their lives."The Eat, Taste and Grow resource is an interactive CD-ROM for use on a whiteboard or computer and is divided into: Foundation, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. Topics include 'Where does our food come from?', 'Who produces our food?', 'How food grows' and 'How food is produced and preserved'. Each topic has accompanying teacher's notes and includes ideas for classroom discussions, role play, games and quiz suggestions.

Ballina Eat Wise Project

The Mayo North East Ballina Eat Wise project will proactively engage with disadvantaged communities, including migrant and Traveller groups, in Ballina to encourage and support people to make informed decisions regarding their diet and that of their families. The project aims to empower people with the resources, skills and knowledge to improve their physical and mental wellbeing through affordable healthy eating. A steering group comprising local stakeholders will be established to co-ordinate and inform the CFI’s work and to ensure it is fully addressing the needs of the target group. The CFI will begin by developing a training module to equip a group of peer researchers to carry out a needs analysis. The information gathered will inform the practical aspects of the project ensuring participation and a sense of ownership from the local community. Young people will be targeted through local schools and youth organisations. Training will be provided for both adults and young people in vegetable/fruit growing, nutrition, cooking, preventing food wastage, smart shopping and budgeting. Practical cookery demonstrations coupled with advice on healthy eating will take place in the target areas. The project will also engage with local supermarkets and takeaways to encourage the provision of healthy affordable options. Other options to increase the availability of healthy food in the target areas will be explored. Part of theCFI Programme 2013-2015 Initiative Type Nutrition Education and Training Programmes Location Mayo Target Groups Children (13-18 years) Families Partner Agencies safefood