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Arts into health themes

Our specialist themed developemnt work focuses on key areas of project delievry around: sexual health, mental health, healthy ageing, maternal well being, drugs, healthy eating and physical activity, health care settings and PSHE (personal, social and health education). All projects are developed through a partnership approach with a number of key partners from Walsall tPCT’s Public Health Development Officers, National Service Framework leads, Community Public Health Facilitators as well as a number of external organisations and local authority departments to deliver work in-line with mainstream initiatives and strategies.

Listed below are a number of initiatives that are currently in progress.

Healthy eating and physical activity

Our aim is to promote healthy lifestyle messages through the ‘5 a day’ fruit and veg programme, and smoking cessation, to tackle year on year rises in obesity and reduce the prevalence of coronary heart disease and strokes.

Men's health

Walsall’s Arts into Health programme is well known both regionally and nationally for its Men’s Health projects. Initially funded and developed in partnership with Walsall East Health Action Zone community steering group and then extended borough wide, the work has addressed a range of health and lifestyle issues such as drinking, smoking, healthy eating/obesity, testicular cancer, and most recently stress and mental health.

The report entitled ‘The Use of the Arts in Men’s health work in Walsall - Evaluation, mapping and future action’ explores specific projects that have been carried out in Walsall and around the UK with regards to men’s health and the use of arts.

Research was carried out by Ranjit Khutan from Bright Red Creative Solutions Ltd

‘Fit Food’

Schools educational healthy lifestyle project

Fit food Magnet

‘Fit Food’ involved collaborative work with health promotion, schools catering, sports and leisure development and creative development team to explore and raise awareness of the value of healthy eating and the steps people can make through diet and exercise to prevent obesity. The idea was to encourage healthy choices using culturally sensitive and appropriate language to meet the needs of the various ethnic communities across Walsall.

The FitFood DVD and Teaching Pack was developed after working with two local primary schools on a multi-media project which included drama, lyrics, interviews, animation and research activities to explore healthy eating, nutrition and physical activity. The resource pack includes children’s workbooks and teachers lesson plans which is designed to encourage healthy choices at school and home as well as work in tandem with other curriculum activities.

Project work is still continuing in the schools delivering peer education training in media skills to encourage the use of ICT technology in teaching healthy lifestyle topics within the curriculum.

Schools are currently taking part in a ‘5 step challenge’ to help support children to take small and meaningful steps towards a healthier lifestyle.

For more information visit the fit food website

‘Step by Step with May and June’

Touring Health Education Performance to tackle obesity.

May and June

Walsall Council Creative Development Team in partnership with Walsall Teaching Primary Care Trust commissioned an arts and health project to help raise community awareness, education and understanding around obesity and the prevalence of the rising rates in Walsall.

Actresses from Women in Theatre carried out consultation with community groups and individuals to collect local stories, experiences and view points around what people think are the root causes of obesity and current lifestyle behaviour. The material collected was used to devise a theatre production.

The final 40 minute performance combined local stories, music, humour, dance and discussion and provided a format to explore the roles played by diabetes, breastfeeding, healthy balanced diets, exercise and smoking cessation. The performance focused on encouraging and inspiring audience members to think about positive steps and realistic action that could be taken to improve health and well being. At each performance health professionals were on hand to offer advice and information and sign post to local services.

A DVD and training pack has been produced to help sustain the messages as part of a wider promotional campaign.

‘The Weight’s Over’

Walsall Men’s Health & Obesity Consultation Project

Walsall Council’s Creative Development Team (CDT) in partnership with NHS Walsall Community Health, Health Promotion Team recently undertook a piece of consultation work which focused on the issue of obesity in the male population.

Men in particular were identified as groups for engagement with a view to inform the understanding of the barriers and access to services.

In this instance a quantitative questionnaire was compiled by the obesity lead at Walsall tPCT Phil Stimpson and director of the National Obesity Forum Jane DeVille Almond. The questionnaire aimed to establish an understanding about men’s attitudes, awareness and perceptions of current lifestyle, weight, obesity and local weight management services.

22 students from Wolverhampton University were recruited from relevant courses including 'Sport and Exercise Science, and Physical Activity, Exercise and Health' to carry out the face-to-face style interviews and distributing Nutracheck vouchers (an online web based weight loss service) where appropriate.

Over 300 local men completed the questionnaire and the data gathered will be analysed by Dr Andy Smith and a team from the University of Chester’s Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences. Findings will be used to inform the development of new services within Walsall’s Weight Management Programme.

Maternal Well-being

Jewellery designed by Rita Patel

Our aim is to promote breastfeeding and raise awareness around post natal depression, childbirth and maternal well being.

Mothering Heart

Following successful project work around maternal health and breastfeeding support Walsall CDT Arts into Health established a maternal health steering group to continue to address the need for targeted project work. It was through this group that the ‘Mothering Heart’ project was developed to explore health issues, thoughts and feelings around emotional well being particularly in relation to post natal depression.

Women in Theatre were commissioned to consult with local women at three Sure Start Children’s Centres within Walsall to capturing their thoughts and feelings through discussion, audio and film. A DVD has been created which highlights women’s expressed views around the services, resources that are available to them locally as well as exploring some of the stigmas around depression and some of the obstacles faced by women today.

A training package was also developed which provides facilitation notes and guidance around the use of the DVD in community based settings. Training was delivered by Women in Theatre to Sure Start Support Workers, Health Promotion Specialists and Community Workers to raise capacity and skills in facilitating discussion around the DVD.

The Real Story of a Teenage Mom

The tough life of a very young Mom is highlighted in our book ‘The Real Story of a Teenage Mom’.

Walsall Teenage Pregnancy Team (Walsall teaching Primary Care Trust) identified the need to work with young parents to develop a resource for Key Stage 3 and 4 pupils which would highlight the challenging experiences of being a teenage mom.

teenage pregnancy

The aims of the resource were to: create a high quality resource that shared the realities of becoming a teenage mom; ensure the resource was accessible and young people friendly and ensure that young people across the borough had access to the resource.

Walsall Creative Development Team was commissioned to manage the project.

Team members worked alongside Arts Worker Sam Hale and eight young moms/moms to be from across Walsall. We used creative writing, informal discussions and visual arts/craft activities to support the participants in talking about their experiences. The participants made puppets for their children, keep sake boxes for special things and wrote letters to their children, helping them explore their feelings and emotions around becoming moms.

The young moms we worked with had received a lot of professional support and developed very warm, strong bonds with their babies, but they allowed us to focus on the more traumatic side of becoming pregnant so young, with the book serving as a gruesome deterrent to teenage pregnancy.

The real story of a teenage mom contains extracts on the following themes:

Telling parents/carers of becoming pregnant
The birth experience for both mothers and fathers
Housing – exploring myths around availability for pregnant women and partners
The barriers around/ease of accessing childcare
Education – returning to formal education or not
Stereotypes and social stigma
The benefits process

After the resource was created, a celebration event took place where all the young moms involved came together, along with health professionals, parents/carers and support staff.

The real story of a teenage mom is currently being distributed to secondary schools across Walsall.

Mental Health

CDT - Me myself and I Our aim is promoting positive emotional well being for all and combating discrimination and negative stereotypes, linking with standard 1 of the National Service Framework around Mental Health Promotion.

Arts and Mental Health Steering Group

An Arts and Mental Health Steering Group was established in April 2005 to promote joint working and information sharing between a variety of organisations in the borough. This has become a monthly networking forum chaired by the Creative Development Team, working closely with the health promotion department at Walsall tPCT. Other members include the tPCT Early Intervention Team and Primary Care Mental Health Team, Caldmore Housing, Age Concern, Rethink and Walsall Youth Arts.

The steering group is currently developing a number of different projects around promoting mental well being and challenging stigma.

Walsall Wellbeing Festival

Walsall Wellbeing Festival drew in an audience of over 900 people to Walsall New Art Gallery as part of World Mental Health Day 2007. Building on the success of the previous year’s festival Walsall CDT in partnership with the tPCT health promotion team and the Arts and Mental Health Steering group co-ordinated a family orientated event.

The aim of the festival was to highlight issues around emotional well being, promote positive mental health and signpost to local services and information. Throughout the day a road show took place which incorporated a range of stands and displays from local services and organisations offering health information and advice. Health Trainers and community pharmacists were on hand to offer personal advice and one to one health checks. Alongside this free complementary theraphy demonstrations were offered and a range of arts based activities for everyone to enjoy.

This year’s Wellbeing festival was held on Saturday 11 October 2008 at Walsall New Art Gallery.

‘Evening of Despair, dawn of hope’

Walsall CDT alongside Walsall teaching Primary Care Trust, NHS Walsall Community Health and Walsall Local Neighbourhood Partnership are currently developing a educational DVD to raise awareness of clinical depression for BME communities.

The first phase of the project involved consultation and research with health staff, service users, GP’s and local community which was led by BME Community Mental health development workers and Graduate Mental Health Workers from the tPCT.

The film script was devised by Round Midnight Theatre Company in response to the findings of the consultation and with input from the project steering group representatives. The script has been proofed by many local health professionals to ensure it is an accurate portrayal of the local situation and local services available.

The film consists of a series of interrelated case studies illustrating different aspects of depression. The dialogue will be in Urdu with English subtitles. The drama will be supported with information about treatments and recovery including interviews with health professionals.

A supporting brochure will give explanatory background information, an overview of depression and signpost further sources of information and support.

The DVD will be showcased at Walsall’s Well being Festival in October 2008.

Walsall ‘Feeling Good’ Project

Walsall CDT are one of the partners in Walsall’s ‘Feeling Good’ project forms part of the Big Lottery Regional Well being portfolio. The overall aim of the project is to work with women of south Asian origin to promote emotional well being and to raise awareness of positive mental health and healthy lifestyles through healthy eating and physical activity.

Walsall’s Arts into Health team will be working with young women from local secondary schools in creative and consultation participatory arts activities to develop opportunities to address confidence and self esteem, raise awareness of the key issues of mental health and provide opportunities and strategies to promote their own emotional well being. Through creative approaches the young women will explore issues relating to culture, self value, self identity and aspirations.

The project will run for three years and will work in partnership with school health advisors, teachers, specialist development workers, counselling service and wider whole school community.

Promoting the Care Programme

Walsall Community Mental Health Teams have been working with Walsall CDT to improve existing resources for patients in order to enhance their understanding of the care planning approach. In line with recent recommendations the aim was to design and new leaflet that clearly outlined the approach, process and support available to patients and family members and to present this information in a more user friendly way.

Artist Kate Green has been working with health professionals and service users to gain their ideas and input in the design of the new leaflet. Consultation work has focused on reviewing the use of language and terminology of the current leaflet and using relevant visuals and colour to illustrate the various aspects of the care plan.

Sexual Health

Our work involves consultation with young people around service development, as well as sexual health promotion and raising awareness of Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

Confronting Chlamydia and 'Frisky Risky' toolkit

Confronting Chlamydia With the rising rates of Chlamydia infection amongst teenagers which has more than quadrupled in the last ten years and being the most common and fastest growing STI which can often remain undiagnosed a creative project was specifically designed to target this area.

‘Confronting Chlamydia’ project was developed through funding from Walsall Health Action Zones following the recognized need for a toolkit which would effectively help youth workers explore and discuss sexual health issues with young people. Creative consultation was carried out with over 50 health professionals, young people and youth workers which led to the development of a series of prototype interactive resources consisting of board game, video, drama game and website. Further professional and community involvement has guided the developments of the final toolkit named ‘Frisky Risky’ which incorporated a board game and drama resource which has been launched borough wide alongside a ‘Chlamydia’ training programme. Currently over 200 staff (health, community, education, youth service) have attended the local training and 30 ‘Frisky Risky’ resources are being used throughout the borough.

The project was developed in partnership with Walsall teaching Primary Care Trust (Community Public Health Team and School Health Advisors), Walsall Health Action Zones, Sure Start Plus, Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust (GUM clinic), Walsall Youth Service and Electric Palace.

Healthy Ageing

arts into health project We work towards Standard 6 of the National Service Framework, which is about falls prevention.

Falls Video

A pilot video was developed, highlighting the tPCT’s Falls Prevention programme and investigating the scope for creating a locally relevant exercise video.

Wheels work wonders on the cat walk We worked with partners tPCT, Age Concern, Social Services and the Walsall branch of the National Osteoporosis Society.

Falls Awareness Fashion Show

Arts company ‘The Cultural Sisters’ have worked with a variety of community groups leading creative workshops to explore thoughts and feelings around older age and challenge negative stereotypes.

The work culminated in July 2005 with a ‘falls prevention fashion show’ in Walsall town centre.

This was part of a Falls Awareness event called, ‘Positive Steps’, organised by Age Concern to commemorate the first national falls awareness day.

Arts and Health Practitioner Training: Healthy Practice

Healthy practice workshop Through funding from Arts Council England Healthy Communities Programme two innovative networking and training days were designed for arts and health practitioners. The first ‘Healthy Practice’ focused on giving practitioners in both the arts and health field the opportunity to creatively explore their own healthy practice. The workshop focused on exploring the positive and negative aspects of practitioners’ working lives in the context of emotional, physical and mental health. Through the workshop participants were given the opportunity to reflect on these and then make positive declarations for a healthier approach to working practice. The second day ‘Flight Club’ focused on supporting practitioners to reflect on their working practice and explore the roles individuals play within teams and the context of partnership and group working.

Reflections on our healthy and unhealthy working practices, captured for an exhibition

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‘Explore’ Social Marketing

Walsall Arts into Health have been commissioned by Walsall NHS Community Health- Health Promotion Team to undertake consultation and audit around social marketing. ‘Explore’ creative workshops are to be facilitated with all health staff within the team to explore social marketing in action and generate discussion around future opportunities for using the social marketing approach and principles in the delivery of health promotion work. An interactive report and action plan will be produced later in the year.

Design of Walsall Health Trainers publicity resources

Walsall tPCT has been one of the first tPCT’s in the country to employ a team of health trainers. Health Trainers are local people who have been employed and trained to provide services within their own community undertaking work in deprived areas, targeting patients with high lifestyle risk factors. Their role is to provide a personal service to motivate, encourage and support local people to make changes to improve their health.

Graphic Designer Innes Jones was commissioned to design and produce new marketing material for Walsall’s developing service. Consultation was undertaken to inform the designs and sessions were carried out with existing service users, local men via Walsall Banks Stadium, staff and community groups.

Through consultation work insight was gathered around lifestyle behaviour, barriers to assessing the service, personal motivations and perceptions to health and marketing styles, formats and concept.

A series of flyers, posters and display panels have been produced and are used widely across the borough to promote the service.

Health Trainers Publicity

Walsall Hospice Arts into Health project

‘Life Stories’

As part of the delivery of the national ‘End of Life Care Strategy’ Walsall Bereavement Support Scoping Group have commissioned a participatory arts and health project to creatively work with people that are living with life limiting illnesses and those that have been affected by or preparing for the death of a loved one.

Arts processes will engage both patients and carers to capture and nurture personal feelings and experiences around life, end of life, loss and bereavement, and provide an opportunity for people living with a terminal illness and their carers to explore what’s happening in their lives.

Walsall Arts into Health are currently working with ‘Rosetta Life’ to deliver three artist residencies with patients, staff and families attending Little Bloxwich Day Hospice and clients accessing Walsall Bereavement Service. The residencies running are:

Singers and poets - Creative writing giving people the chance to find expression for stories feelings and ideas that are important to them.
Feeling Good - Creative relaxation and movement; awakening memories of life experiences
Who are we now - Self portrait photography; enabling people to express ideas of themselves and their identity.

The project will be running from February 8 February 2009.

Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE)

Walsall’s Arts into Health work is extended into local schools through the team’s Arts into PSHE programme which is delivered through the young people’s development work.

Participatory arts projects are developed and delivered to support the PSHE and Citizenship curriculum, supporting and enhancing children's personal development in gaining the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to lead confident and independent lives and to make healthy lifestyle choices.

Working in partnership with Walsall teaching Primary Care Trust, Education Walsall, Walsall Healthy Schools Scheme and local schools and agencies, projects focus on engaging the whole school community (teaching staff, support staff, governors, children, parents/carers, lunch time supervisors, school health advisors, learning mentors) from mainstream schools, special schools, pupil referral and learning support units, independent nurseries and early years settings within the Walsall Borough.

Family doctors in the spotlight during children’s question time We support in addressing local health and school priorities, exploring themes around emotional health and well being, healthy eating, physical activity, sex and relationship education and drug education.

View an evaluation of Walsall Arts into PSHE (PDF 747KB). This is an external evaluation commisioned by the Walsall Creative Development Team.

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Help I’m Hairy

Walsall School Health Advisors in partnership with Walsall Healthy Schools Scheme identified the need to develop an interactive teaching resource to meet the needs of local children as they approach puberty.

School Health Advisors wanted to create a resource that would support the delivery of their puberty health promotion sessions for older pupils in primary schools.

The aim of the project was to move away from ‘one off’ drop in sessions and develop a co-ordinated programme of work which is offered in all schools.

The project has been part of ongoing development work in partnership with Walsall Healthy Schools Scheme and Walsall Teenage Pregnancy unit to creatively support the delivery of health education in local schools.

Catcher Media was the successfully appointed company who led on the creative consultation with pupils and teachers from four schools, and the design and production of the interactive Key Stage 2 DVD – Help I’m Hairy.

Help I’m Hairy is a child friendly, interactive resource with supporting lesson plans, guidelines and classroom based activities. The participatory video uses drama, interviews, humour and animation to explore themes around hygiene, emotional development and physical development.

Sexpert

Following on from the development of ‘Help I’m Hairy’ a Sex and Relationship Educational resource for Walsall primary schools aimed at Key stage 2 pupils, Walsall Teenage Pregnancy Team (WtPCT) in partnership with Walsall Healthy Schools Scheme, identified the need to develop a Sex and Relationship education DVD resource which met the sex and relationship education needs in particular the theme of teenage pregnancy and young parents for local young people and staff in Key Stage 3 and 4 (ages 11-16) across Walsall.

Walsall Creative Development Team managed the project and in partnership with the project steering group appointed Catcher Media to creatively design, develop and deliver the project, Catcher Media worked with pupils from Willenhall School Sports College and Frank F Harrison Engineering College.

Catcher Media led the creative consultation process with the pupils using drama, creative writing, film making and scripting. This process was used to identify the level of knowledge the young people had and to ascertain what type of resource the young people felt would be successful amongst their peers within the school environment.

Participants not only worked on the consultation part of the project, they all took part in the production of the resource, either by starring in the DVD or working on the technical parts of making a film.

Sexpert took a year to complete, and following its completion two celebratory screening events were held (one at each school) where local health professionals, parents/carers, participants and teaching staff were invited to celebrate the creation of the resource.

Teaching staff from across the borough are currently being offered training on how to use the Sexpert resource. Secondary schools can obtain a free copy of the resource after completing training.

The project was part of ongoing development work in partnership with Walsall Healthy Schools Scheme to creatively support the Personal, Social and Health Education curriculum delivered in Walsall Schools, equipping young people with the skills knowledge, confidence and understanding in order to make healthy lifestyle choices.

For more information contact wilkesleah@walsall.gov.uk

Drugs, smoking and alcohol

Our aim is to promote healthy lifestyle messages through smoking cessation and drugs and alcohol awareness to tackle the rise preventable diseases such as coronary heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, liver disease and cancer. Supporting the targets to reduce smoking rates and encourage and sensible drinking.

R U Bingin?

Alcohol Awareness Project

CDT-R U Bingin commic Project engaging young people at Pelsall Youth Centre, Darlaston Youth Project and Walsall Youth Arts to creatively explore issues surrounding binge drinking resulting in the design and production of a poster campaign targeting young people at secondary schools and youth clubs across the borough. The project focused on raising awareness of the physical, emotional and psychological risks and effects of alcohol, short and long term effects around binge drinking and encouraging young people to be more aware of alcohol units.

The project was delivered in partnership with Walsall tPCT, Walsall Youth Service and Walsall Youth Arts.

Wicked Health Day : Health Promotion Event

Walsall Teaching Primary Care Trust and Walsall Council joined together to bring Halloween mayhem to the streets of Walsall in an all new Wicked Health Day event.

The town centre became the focal point for a range of creative interventions to capture the public’s attention and promote a range of health messages. The day incorporated Halloween themed street performances, musicians, costumed characters giving out free fruit, face painting, the local town cryer shouting Halloween health tips along with a transformed market stall into a evil misfortune tellers den. Additionally there where health care staff on hand to carry out health checks and give out advice and information.

Choosing Health Toolkit

Health toolkit Through consultation with health professionals and community groups an interactive, informative and accessible toolkit has been produced which will engage and inspire members of the public to think about their health and emotional well-being whilst they are waiting to be seen by a health professional/visitor/GP for a one to one health check. The toolkit highlights key messages around obesity, mental health, sexual health, smoking and alcohol as well as giving information and contacts on appropriate local health services.

Antibiotics Project

Patients at local surgeries and libraries in Blakenall, Darlaston, Moxley, Willenhall and Bentley have been having unexpected poetry performance recited to them whilst sitting in the waiting room waiting for their appointments through a project which has been developed to highlight awareness of using antibiotics.

The performed poetry piece uses a character dressed up as `Aunty-biotic’ is aimed to raise patient’s awareness of their use of antibiotics and highlight alternative steps to manage common colds, infections and viruses.

The project has engaged local people attending groups at Sure Start Palfrey, Sure Start Alumwell and Pleck and Collingwood Community Association.

The character `Aunty-biotic’ wears a costume of a medical apron, doctor’s surgical bag and colourful headpiece. The local community groups have worked with a textile artist and drama worker from Cultural Sisters to bring the character and project to life.

“A picture paints a thousand words. No matter how many posters we put up or leaflets we give out there will always be a demand for inappropriate antibiotics. We hope this wonderful arts into health project will help people in Walsall to look after their own health.” East locality lead pharmacist

Key Thoughts

Key thoughts fabric design The ‘Key Thoughts’ project was developed with Walsall Domestic Violence Forum Stepping Stones and The Creative Development Team. The project was set up for an existing group which meets weekly to support female victims of domestic violence.

Artsworkers, Cultural Sisters ran a series of six workshops during September and October 2006. The women taking part created individual art pieces from cloth and various materials. The aim of the project was to raise self esteem levels through designing and creating a piece of art as well as the positive discussions that took place throughout the project. Many the women taking part found the experience new and interesting, and some of the participants learnt new skills. The project also helped the group share ideas and support each other throughout. It was the first time the self help group had taken part in an arts project, and all the participants said they would like to continue after the project had finished.

The group currently runs arts and craft sessions as part of their weekly meetings.

The project was funded by The Creative Development Team.

For more information please call Claire Taylor on 01922 653114.