Youth Pack - Unit 1

Session 1.1

Session Title: Welcome and Introduction

C for E Organiser(s): Mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing

Experiences and Outcomes: HWB 4-14a
I value the opportunities I am given to make friends and be part of a group in a range of situations

.Learning outcomes: 

• I  can communicate with my peers
• I can show an understanding about the aims of health issues in the community programme

Resources

• I.K. Zola (1972).  Medicine as an instrument of social control
• Handout 1
• Hand out 2

Activities

Welcome participants to the session and the Course.

Ask participants to pair up with someone they don't know very well, tell each other who they are, where they're from and one interesting fact about themselves (stress that this doesn't need to be of world-shattering importance or too personal).

Come back to the full group - each person should introduce their partner to the rest of the group and tell everyone the interesting fact about their partner.

As each pair is feeding back you should write their names up on the flipchart with the interesting fact alongside them. This can then be stuck up on the wall for the rest of the session - and should act as an aide memoir for the rest of the group when trying to remember who different people are.

Ground Rules.  -  For groups to be a positive experience we need to have agreed 'rules' that everyone contributes to and abides by.    Ask each person to note down a couple of 'rules' for the operation of this group and then flipchart these for all to see (be prepared to add in a couple of your own such as maintaining confidentiality, respecting other people's opinions, etc.).     These ground rules should then be posted up on the wall for the duration of the Course and returned to if need be. You can add to these ground rules as the course progresses but only with the group’s knowledge and consent.

What the course is about

Spend a few minutes explaining the title of this course - Health Issues in the Community, A Community Development Approach.  A community development approach to tackling health issues involves people such as themselves, coming together to work out what the problems are, getting organised and taking action on health issues of concern to them. Using the Course programme, explain that over the next few weeks they will be looking at:

• A social model of health
• Inequalities in health
• Equity and justice
• Participation, power and democracy.

To illustrate your point, tell participants that you will recount a story based on I.K. Zola’s writing; read through or pass out handout 1 and go through with the group.

Reference: Source: I.K. Zola (1972).  Medicine as an instrument of social control.  Sociological Review, No. 20, pp. 487-504.

Variation: you could pin up the illustrations and refer to them as you recount the story.

Using the course outline from the tutor workbook, explain that you will be exploring a range of issues that will provide insights into

• The many connected factors that affect our health and wellbeing.
• The way different circumstances influence out health and wellbeing.
• How our health, as individuals and communities, can be affected by concerns of fairness and justice.
• The way we can address our concerns about health by coming together as a group, with common purpose.

Finally explain to the group that we have a responsibility to ourselves and to each other. Tell the group you will go over this with them. Give out what is expected of you and read through the handout, offering to elaborate or explain should the group wish you to. Conclude by highlighting the main tasks involved in undertaking the course, particularly the Group Project and the Assignment. Stress that although this may sound daunting, the necessary support will be available throughout

What is Expected of You This Term?

You should modify the following 5 paragraphs if participants are not going to go through the credit rating requirements.

1. Attendance

Try to attend each session, unless you have a good reason. Do let the tutor or someone in the group know if you are not coming. Your contribution is important to the whole group because we are learning and thinking together.  Your ideas and experience are part of this course.  This is important for all course members. In order to get your credit rating for Part 1 an attendance at least 6 of the units is required as part of your assessment.

2. Learning logs

On this course you will be asked to keep a few notes each week. Often, these will go in your learning log.  Sometimes you might be asked to do other things.  The learning logs are to help you to remember and to think a little more about what has happened each week.  They will not be shared in the group but your tutor will look at them from time to time.  The learning logs are a part of the course assessment system for credit rating and you will be asked to submit them as part of your assessment. There are no right or wrong answers. Your tutor will be on hand to help you with them. If you like you may keep your own notes in addition to the learning logs.

3. Your contribution to the course

This course has been developed with the help of many groups in the community who have put in their ideas and comments about each session.  Although the tutors will be presenting some information and organising the sessions around each week's topics, it is the course members' experiences and opinions which form the main part of this course.  Health affects us all. We all have bodies and minds and we know what makes us feel well. When it comes to health, we are all experts.

4. Speaking up

The more you put into this course, the more you will get out of it.  We are all different in the way we learn - some of us learn by listening, others by talking it out or writing.

Even if we don't feel confident in groups, it is important to speak up if there is something we don't understand, or we disagree with what is being said.  If this feels too hard, you can use your learning log or take it up with your tutor. However, the groups who have tried this course found that if there is something you don't understand, you can bet that you are not the only one!

5. Credit Rating: If you are doing a credit rated course make the following points very clear.

This course offers a credit rating at SCQF Level 6. Requirements for the credit

Rating submission are:

• Attend at least 6 of the 8 units;
• Take part in the group project;
• Complete your learning logs for each unit you attended and
• Complete the written assignment.

Session 1.2

1.2

Session Title: WHAT AFFECTS OUR HEALTH

C for E Organiser(s):

• Mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing
• Literacy:  Listening and Talking

Experiences and Outcomes: 

HWB 3-10A, 4-10A

I recognise that each individual has a unique blend of abilities and needs.  I contribute to making my school community one which values individuals equally and is a welcoming place for all. 

LIT 4-10A

I can communicate in a clear, expressive manner when engaging with others with and beyond my place of learning, and can independently select and organise appropriate resources as required. 

Learning outcomes

•  I can show an understanding of what affects my health and the health of my community

Resources

• Two packets of Post-its (tm) in different colours, say yellow and blue
• Two sheets of flipchart paper for each group.  Large felt-tip pens

Activities

Give each person three yellow and three blue Post-its (tm).  Using the yellows, each person writes down one point on each, which they feel affects their own health.  These points can be a word or a short sentence. This to be done on their own.

Take the blue Post-its (tm) and ask people to write down three points which they think affect the health of their community.  'Community' can mean the area they live in or a 'community of interest' which includes people that have something in common - their disability, their sexual preference, their culture, religion etc.  Stress that these should be things that they think.  There are no 'right or wrong' answers and this is not a test.

Divide the large group into two or three smaller groups and give each group a sheet of flipchart paper.  Use tables, the floor, or stick the paper on the wall - in each group, everyone needs to be able to see and have access to what is on the flipchart.

Each group sticks all the yellow Post-its (tm) randomly and quickly on the flipchart paper, and spends a couple of minutes reading them. Now ask people to move the Post-its (tm) around on the page so that common ideas/similar topics are grouped together.  There will be some discussion about this - people change their minds as they see the ideas emerge.  Once the main groups of ideas have been decided, ask people to give each group a heading, mental health/relationships/social factors/money etc.  Add more words, lines or pictures if necessary.  Draw any connecting lines and so on.

Do the same for the blues, looking at things that affect the health of the community.

The whole group then comes together to look at the two sets. Take one page at a time, look for similarities and differences and encourage discussion about the themes each small group has identified.  Encourage people to say why they have grouped things in particular ways and why they have made certain connections.

Keep the flipchart papers for Unit 1, Exercise 3.

Session 1.3

Session Title: MEDICAL AND SOCIAL EXPLANATIONS

C for EOrganiser(s):

• Social Studies 
• Literacy:  Listening and Talking

Experiences and Outcomes

SOC 4-20B

 I can research the purposes and features of private, public and voluntary sector organisations to contribute to a discussion on their relationship with stakeholders

LIT 4-10A

I can communicate in a clear, expressive manner when engaging with others with and beyond my place of learning, and can independently select and organise appropriate resources as required. 

Learning Intentions

• Ican discuss what the NHS does
• I can show an understanding that it is not just the NHS who address health issues

Resources

• Flipcharts from Unit 1 (Exercise 2)
• Pens

Activities

Put the flipcharts from Unit 1 Exercise 2 up on the wall. These are some things that the group has identified as affecting their health.

Since 1948, there has been a National Health Service (NHS) in this country. Using the flipcharts ask the group to identify how many of the issues listed are dealt with by the NHS.

Discussion Points

• What aspects of our health does the NHS deal with?
• Who has responsibility for all the other things listed?
• What are we told causes ill-health?
• Who tells us?  E.g. the Government, media, our friends, our family.

WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.

Ask participants in small groups to come up with their own definition of Health. 

Putting the following up on flip chart and ask young people can they complete the WHO definition using the words below;

“A ____of complete physical, _______and social well-being and not merely the _______of

disease or_______."

State, condition, matter, Emotional, Mental, Wealth,  Presence, Absence, Condition , Illness, Sickness, disorders, infirmity

Answer:  A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. 

Discussion: 

• What do they think of the definition
• Do they agree with the definition 
• What was the similarity/differences with their own definition

Session 1.4

Session Title: DIFFERENT WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT HEALTH

C for EOrganiser(s):

• Mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing
• Social Studies

Experiences and Outcomes

 HWB 4-15a

I am developing my understanding of the human body and can use this knowledge to maintain and improve my wellbeing and health

SOC 4-15a

I can evaluate conflicting sources of evidence to sustain a line of argument

Learning Intentions

• I am aware of and understand different ways of thinking about health

Resources

• Different ways of thinking about health handout

Activities

What causes heart disease?

A simple question? Well, if you ask the same question to three different health professionals, you may get three different answers.

Ask a cardiologist and she/he may tell you that:

"Heart disease is caused by hypertension, family history, and a build-up of arterial plaque.”

On the other hand, if you ask a public health nurse, nutritionist or fitness instructor, he/she may tell you that:

"Heart disease is caused by smoking, physical inactivity, excess alcohol consumption and a high fat diet.”

But, on the other hand, if you ask a social worker, social epidemiologist or anti-poverty activist, you may get the following answer:

"Heart disease is caused by stress, poverty, unemployment and social isolation.”

Confused?

So are most people when they are first introduced to the three models of health that influence health promotion practice.

The biomedical model views health as the absence of diseases or disorders.

The behavioural model views health as the product of making healthy lifestyle choices.

The social model views health as the product of social, economic and environmental determinants that provide incentives and barriers to the health of individuals and communities.

These models represent three different ways of looking at health, and also treating health issues. 

Give out handout Exploring the three models and discuss

Which of the three models—biomedical, behavioural or socio-environmental - best reflects your own ideas about health and your own experience with addressing health issues?

Exploring the three models

This table illustrates that these perspectives on health influence the ways in which health issues are defined.

Table 1.1: Leading Health Problems by Three Models of Health