Promoting Healthy Eating in Post-Primary School Setting across the Southern Region of Northern Ireland
| Description | Promote healthier eating options by providing the necessary funding to enable schools to develop and deliver initiatives based on the individual needs of the schools |
|---|---|
| Setting | Post-primary schools across the Southern Board Area |
| Populationting | Young people aged 11-18 years |
| Intervention summary | Vary in different schools. Examples include installing a salad bar or introducing water coolers and water bottles. |
| Outcome Summary | Qualitative outcomes from questionnaires show that participants are more aware of what they eat, and are more willing to experiment with what they term as ‘healthy’ food. Quantitative results awaited |
| Startup Cost | |
| Running Cost | Approximately £58 000 has been spent on the project. In most of the projects there are no additional running costs, apart from annual maintenance costs for selective pieces of equipment. In a number of projects, the catering section of the Southern Education and Library Board have agreed to cover these costs. |
| Funding | The Southern Investing for Health Project, delivered through the Education and Life-Skills Issue Group |
| Started | November 2004 |
| Ended | The current phase will finish in May/June 2007 |
| Location | Armagh, Northern Ireland; Banbridge, Northern Ireland; Craigavon, Northern Ireland; Dungannon and South Tyrone, Northern Ireland; Newry and Mourne, Northern Ireland. |
| Contact |
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Background
The project is encouraging post primary schools across the Southern Board Area to promote healthier eating options by providing the necessary funding to enable schools to develop and deliver initiatives based on the individual needs of the schools.
What is the problem you are trying to solve?
Rising levels of childhood obesity
What local organisations are involved?
The Southern Investing for Health partnership working closely with teachers, catering staff from the Southern Education and Library Board, and dieticians.
How many people are running this project and who are they?
The Investing for Health Officer, the Investing for Health Support Worker and the Investing for Health Information Officer
What local population are you targeting?
Young people aged 11-18 years
How many people are you targeting?
By the end of the project, in excess of 12 000 young people will have been targeted.
Interventions
What interventions are you using to address the problem?
Different interventions are being used in different schools, for example, installing a salad bar or introducing water coolers and water bottles.
Is the project design based on evidence? If so, please state reference.
The project was not based on evidence but rather the lack of it. The Investing for Health Partnership identified that there was little evidence of what was an effective way of promoting healthy eating in the post-primary school setting and so designed this approach to develop, implement and evaluate an intervention in this setting. We intend to write up the findings of the study and disseminate widely to contribute to the evidence in this area.
Outcome
What outcomes or planned outcomes are you measuring?
The outcomes measured are different for each school dependent on the initiatives introduced.
An example would be to monitor the number of salad ingredients sold compared to unhealthy food options (like chips), following the installation of a salad bar. Another example would be to monitor the change in eating and drinking habits after the introduction of water coolers and water bottles.
Do you have any outcomes or results yet? If so, what are they?
Qualitative evaluation, using a general online questionnaire and individual evaluation, tailored to each individual school project, was used to monitor the success of the project. Evaluation of the project over a specific geographic area has just been completed and the results have been very positive. Participants have said they are more aware of what they eat, and are more willing to experiment with what they term as ‘healthy’ food as a result of the project. At this early stage some have even commented that they have lost weight.
Quantitative findings from the evaluation will be available in the near future.
Is your project relevant to a government target or guideline?
PSA 10a: ‘To halt the year on year rise in obesity among children under 11 by 2010 in the context of a broader strategy to tackle obesity in the population as a whole’ 1 .
Feedback
What obstacles did you have to overcome to set up this project?
None were experienced – the post-primary school sector was extremely supportive of this initiative and has engaged fully.
What have you learned about the project so far?
The project is making a real difference to those who participated.
One lesson we have learnt is to stress the importance of the evaluation process to those involved at the initial stages of the project. It is also important to emphasise that the funding necessary to implement the project and the evaluation process go hand in hand.
What would you do differently?
Nothing to add at this stage – the evaluation is still ongoing.