Over the past decade or more, Ireland has moved from being a relatively poor country, to one of huge economic success. With this success there have been some downsides. The main one being that the population is becoming heavier, due to an increasing sedentary lifestyle, and more reliance on convenience &/or processed foodstuffs. The consequences of this for the nation will be that we shall become increasingly unhealthy, and most especially, Irish children are at a greater risk of developing diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and joint related problems as a corollary of developing obesity at an early age. This, in turn, will result in higher spend on healthcare - which is estimated to be around €4 Billion per annum.
With this in mind since Spring 2005, Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, (PHI), has been working in association with several groups to deliver a program that will help parents and children to become more aware of their lifestyle and how, in fact, they can go about changing poor behaviour – the programme is called Way2Go for a healthier you! Those groups with whom PHI is working include the SPHE, (Dept of Education), the Irish Heart Foundation, Dublin City University and the National Parents Council Primary.
A Video & DVD, with workbooks were produced for young adults, between the ages of 11-15 years. All the materials were validated in the Schools by both teachers and pupils and subsequently the Way2Go for a healthier you! element has been included, as a compliment to the SPHE part of the schools curriculum, in all secondary schools nationally. The messages being delivered include: The importance of a Balanced Diet; Correct Portion Size; The importance of increasing Activity/Exercise; Improved Self Awareness and Esteem; Increased understanding on how advertising affects our decision- making.
In addition, more than ten public meetings were held countrywide, to which parents were invited. At these meeting the Way2Go messages were delivered by a panel of experts, including Paula Mee, (Nutritionist and member of RTE’s Health Squad team), who presented on Nutrition and Activity; Dr Mark Harrold, (Psychologist, specialising in behavioural psychology), who spoke about Parenting Strategies and the importance of activity from a concentration and learning point of view and time was given at each meeting to an interactive session with the audience.
Market Research was carried out pre and post one of these meetings to ensure that the key messages were communicated, and that the expectations of the attendees was met. 91% of those interviewed said that they would be willing to change their behaviour based on what they had learnt at the meeting. An overview of Way2Go was presented to the National Health Summit in Dublin by Paula Mee, Dr Mark Harrold and David Harvey. Attending this Summit were key decision makers in Healthcare, both at Government and Health Authority level. Market Research was undertaken at this event and 84% of those surveyed were positive toward the programme, whilst 58% expressed an interest in supporting Way2Go in their area.
Building on this work in 2006 PHI embarked on some additional research amongst children, which was called the Pedometer Olympics. This research was undertaken in three schools and each child was given a pedometer and notebook to record the numbers of steps taken daily. There was a one week introductory time, followed by four weeks active participation. Two focus groups were also held. The outcome was that the average increase in the number of steps across all schools from baseline to week four was 76%, with 65% of all students achieving all of their goals over the Programme’s lifespan.
This includes strategies for parents to use in the areas of raising children in an affluent society; advice on how to eat well and suggestions on how to get active in a fun way. Contributors to this booklet include Dr Catherine Woods (Lecturer in Exercise and Health Psychology in DCU0, Paula Mee and Dr Mark Harrold. This booklet has been distributed to all secondary schools nationally and is available in most GP surgeries and Health Centres in Ireland.
Obesity is an escalating problem that is shared by many European Countries and interest in Way2Go was expressed by Pfizer colleagues globally. On two occasions the Ireland Team has presented on this project to enable colleagues to replicate it in their home markets.
The Task Force was established by the Department of Health & Children in March 2004 as a direct response to the emerging problem of overweight and obesity in Ireland, particularly relative to children. The report made 93 recommendations and four high level goals; Government Departments to be proactive in address this problem; Private sector has a responsibility in addressing this problem, (Way2Go); Public & private sectors should partner to address this problem, (Way2Go); Individuals should be personally empowered to tackle this problem,(Way2Go). Way2Go is aligned with the latter three high level goals.
These awards are hotly contested and to win was a testament to the originality, practicality and flexibility of this project. The project was commended by several other groups both local and at European level.
The research for this report was carried out in six schools located in Dublin, Cork and Kildare. They included primary and secondary schools and the age range of the participants was from eleven to fourteen years. As a support to the National Taskforce on Obesity (2005) findings, ‘The voice of young people’ seeks to build on our knowledge of obesity by providing a voice to children in terms of their attitudes to health. More specifically the document presents the results of qualitative research conducted with Irish children in relation to their diet, nutrition and exercise. The goal of the report was to bring children’s views into the dialogue about obesity and to seek their opinion on how this can be tackled.
A research project was undertaken by an independent market research company, with students between the ages of 16 and 18 years. In total 12 focus groups were conducted with secondary school students, (six groups with females and six groups with males), across Dublin, Galway and Cork. All the teenagers were smokers. When the results were collated a report was developed called ‘The Voice of Young People - A Report on Teenagers’ Attitudes to Smoking’. The report incorporated the results of qualitative research conducted with Irish teenagers in relation to their smoking habits and attitudes to smoking, health, and smoking cessation. The research also explored how teenagers respond to anti-smoking advertising and examined the type of anti-smoking advertising that they view to be effective and relevant. All of those who participated in the research were smokers, purchasing their own cigarettes.
The findings were that the majority of teenagers participating in the research had started smoking as young as 12 or 13 years of age. None of them considered their lifestyles to be healthy, with ‘smoking too much, drinking too much and eating too much junk food’ cited as reasons for their unhealthy lifestyles.
When asked what makes a healthy lifestyle, healthy diet and regular exercise were considered important with none of them considering not smoking as a way of staying healthy. The move from primary to secondary school was revealed as a trigger point for many teenagers to start smoking, with teenagers saying they used cigarettes as a coping mechanism to manage everyday stress.
Alcohol consumption in early teenage years and parents who smoke were found to act as influential factors amongst the teenagers, with ease of access to cigarettes through retailers also acting as an encouragement. Peer pressure, curiosity and being sophisticated or ‘cool’, were found to play a part in influencing them to try their first cigarette.
The report was launched in Dublin in February 2009.
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‘The Voice of Young People - A Report on Attitudes to Sexual Health' incorporated the results of qualitative research conducted with young Irish adults aged 18 – 20 years in relation to sexual health, sex education and sexually transmitted infections. The research also included parents of children aged 14-16 to understand how they approach the issue of sexual health with their children.
The report reveals a consistent view amongst 18-20 year olds than even in comparison to 5 years ago a higher proportion of teenagers are becoming sexually active before the age of 16 years. The majority of young people reported becoming sexually active (having sexual intercourse) between the age of 16-17 years, with a minority reporting having sex as young as 15 years old. This is contrary to what many of the parents felt was an appropriate age to start having sex, with many of them reporting to be negatively disposed towards their children engaging in sexual intercourse before the age of 18.
In the main the primary concern amongst young people regarding STIs was not the potential health consequences, but the social embarrassment that it might cause in the event of their friends finding out. Both males and females reported that that the social stigma of contracting an STI would be worse than that of an unplanned pregnancy. Given the high level of social embarrassment associated with becoming infected with an STI, almost all respondents reported that they would not tell anyone if they got an infection. Worryingly they also said that they would not confront the individual from whom they contracted the infection out of fear that he/she might discuss the issue in public and even blame them as the source of the STI. The most recent national statistics on sexually transmitted diseases provided by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre 2006 reflect a trebling in the number of Irish STI notified cases in the period 1995 – 2006.
In the Report young people state they have had more than one sexual relationship (i.e. more than one partner with whom they had sexual intercourse) and a sizable number of both male and females said they have had a one night stand (i.e. sexual intercourse with no intention of a relationship) on more than one occasion. A notable number of males and some females have engaged in sexual intercourse on more than one occasion without using a condom. In such circumstances, many said they were intoxicated. In the event of casual sex, condoms were viewed by all to be a necessity, but the reason for this was out of fear of unplanned pregnancy rather than protection against contracting an STI. In addition carrying a condom was seen by many of the young men as confirmation that the girl was "seeking sex" or "easy". Similarly although a significant number of young girls reported that it was acceptable and even responsible to carry a condom on a night out, only a small minority chose to do so, saying they worried about the message they may be giving out.
The report was launched in Dublin in March 2010, generating much interest and debate. Pfizer will continue to explore areas of health concern for young people in Ireland under the Way2Go banner.
For more information about this programme Way2go@pfizer.com