Live Well Havering Health Trainers and Health Champions
Public Health community outreach programmes are common across England, with local authorities adopting varied approaches to commissioning and delivery.
In Havering the Health Trainers and Health Champions programme is a community health initiative funded by the Public Health Grant, delivered through Live Well Havering.
The programme supports Health Trainers and Health Champions to actively engage with the Havering community, discussing evidence-based health-related topics and signposting individuals to appropriate local services for further information and support.
Local services
Find out more about our Public Health Community Engagement programme, including the activities of our Health Trainers and signing up to become a Live Well Havering Health Champion.
Community engagement is an essential area of Public Health
Community engagement is a cornerstone of effective public health because it creates healthier, more resilient communities with people rather than for them.
By taking a community-centred approach, local assets can be best mobilised, identifying and working to reduce health inequalities, increasing sustainable participation and people’s control over their health and lives.
Resulting interventions are more relevant, culturally appropriate with improved trust, reach, uptake and adherence.
Community engagement is an area of Public Health focus in Havering
In the UK, the leading risk factors contributing to ill health include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity.
Other significant contributors are unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, smoking, and alcohol misuse.
These risks and behaviours are common amongst our local population, and amenable to change through engagement and support.
The Health Trainers and Health Champion community engagement activities focus on the following priority areas in Havering.
- Physical activity
- Healthy weight
- Tobacco harm reduction
- Substance misuse (drugs and alcohol)
- Cancer screening
- Mental health and suicide prevention
- NHS Health Checks (including cardiovascular risk detection and reduction)
- Health protection (including infectious diseases and environmental hazards)
Successful collaborative working across the Council, Voluntary Sector Organisations, and businesses within Havering coupled with genuine and meaningful community engagement can result in better health outcomes for all.
What we do in Havering
Our Live Well Havering Health Trainers and Health Champions are members of our local community equipped with evidence-based health information and up to date knowledge of local services.
Through engaging with the Havering community at events and informal daily interactions, trusted support and advice on health and wellbeing can reach and influence people that may not typically engage with Havering’s existing services.
Strong relationships developed by our community outreach team will further facilitate resident involvement with service design and delivery.
All Health Trainers and Health Champions have successfully completed the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) Level 2 Award in Understanding Health Improvement.
Health Trainers are paid sessional workers, recruited from existing volunteer Health Champions.
In addition, Health Trainers hold further professional and health-related qualifications and receive additional specific training as required; adding social capital to our population.
How you can make a change
Members of the public can:
- get involved - consider becoming a Health Champion to support your community with trusted health information and signposting.
- promote the scheme across your networks to raise awareness.
Professionals working in the area can:
- signpost residents to the Health Champions scheme and to Health Trainers working in the community.
- share feedback or insight with the Public Health Team to help shape/strengthen the scheme.
- collaborate with Health Trainers to extend the reach of health messaging; invite our Health Trainers to attend local events, meetings, or workshops to strengthen community engagement.