Welcome to our spring 2009 newsletter. It's an exciting time for us as we are launching two brand new programmes this summer. The first is Community Fit Club 4 Kids which will be available on general release shortly, and another which will be announced in our next newsletter.
Welcome to Debbie, our new Community Fit Club Development Manager
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Firstly we'd like to introduce you to Debbie Maughan, our new Development Manager for Community Fit Club. Debbie brings fresh ideas and experience to Hampson Solutions, having previously worked in Europe for the past few years, including a spell at the Eurpoean Commission in Brussels. Debbie will be working to extend the suite of resources included in the Community Fit Club adults programme and to support the roll-out of our brand new Community Fit Club 4 Kids programme (see below for more information on this exciting new programme). |
'Go London' Community Fit Club at St George's University Hospital
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We are celebrating the delivery of our latest Community Fit Club, part of a workplace initiative for NHS trust staff at St George's University Hospital in South London. This is part of the 'Go London' campaign, the health legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games, aiming to improve the activity levels of NHS staff in London.
To find out more click here to go to the Community Fit Club website. |
Introducing Community Fit Club 4 Kids!
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We would like to introduce you to Community Fit Club 4 Kids a children's version of our highly successful adults Community Fit Club programme. Aimed at children aged between 8 and 12 years of age it has been piloted since November 2008 in Bexley, London and early indicators and feedback have been fantastic. The resource will be available shortly as a fully packaged healthy weight management programme for children. |
Recognition for Ceri's Family at LGA Awards 2009
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We were delighted to learn that Denbighshire County Council recently were 'highly commended' for Ceri's Family, their innovative community engagement tool, at the recent 2009 LGA Awards in London, the 'Oscars' of Local Goverment. This placed them second behind Birmingham City Council in the whole of the UK in the competitive Health and Wellbeing category. Ceri's Family is a unique social marketing tool for which we at Hampson Solutions developed the creative artwork and character illustrations for the project on Denbighshire County Council's behalf. |
New Dates for Psychology of Health Behaviour Workshops
We have recently added four more dates to our Psychology of Health Behaviour workshop series this summer.
The workshop is a one-day tour of behavioural economics and what we can learn about its impact on health improvement behaviour. It's particularly relevant for Sport and Physical Activity Development Officers, Health Trainers, Smoking Cessation Specialists, Public Health Practitioners, Occupational Health Officers and anyone working to improve the health and wellbeing of others. Our delegates have included representatives from PCTs, local government, private sector and also the voluntary sector across a wide range of healthy living themes.
We explore the following questions:
Why do people make the choices that they do?
Why are people influenced by certain things, like brands, and peer pressure but still inclined to take risks on long term health behaviour?
What impact do beliefs and expectations have on service-user engagement?
Why do people procrastinate and put off things, even if they would they actually like to do them?
What impact does state of mind have on our decision making and how can we develop systems to help us stick to our resolutions.
Below are some quotes from our past delegates.
“A very useful and relevant course for those working
with individuals on behavioural change, such as
Health Trainers.” CHRIS BAGUMA, Health Promotion
Manager, Brent PCT
“The course has made me re-think the way I approach
my job... and the need to be more client centered.”
DAWN MITCHELL, Salford Community Leisure
“Non-stop, useful, life-changing ideas.” CHRISTINA
JONES, Occupational Health Nurse, Kelloggs
“This workshop has made me look at my own practice
and turn it on its head.” PAUL STENHOUSE, Newcastle PCT
“Great course with practical examples of ways to
promote activities in a range of settings.” CHARLENE
WILLIAMS, Physical Activity Coordinator, Bexley Care Trust
To register on one of these workshops, please follow the link below and complete the booking form.
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We have recently celebrated the landmark of distributing our 5000th physical activity workplace challenge, the 5x5x30 Challenge! This is an attractive and easy-to-use resource which encourages teams of people at work to become more active. We have distributed both our standard off-the-shelf sets and bespoke versions of the challenge for customers. The illustrations below are of a recent version of the challenge adapted for South Lanarkshire Leisure Trust in Scotland.
Click here to find out more about our 5x5x30 Challenge and how it can help you improve activity levels in your workplace. |
Aiming for the Magnetic Middle?
Behavioural economists studying the factors that affect human behaviour and decision-making have discovered that our desire to follow the behaviours of others is a much stronger influence than they previously thought.
Their studies included methods to encourage people to use less energy in the home, to drop less litter in the street, to re-use towels in hotel bathrooms and to increase sales call volumes for commercial products. They found that if they phrased their messages with statistics on what other people did it had a direct impact on the take-up or otherwise of the service or behaviour.
For example, a street of homeowners were told how much energy they used each month, compared to the rest of the street. In the following month they found the homes which had used more than average energy successfully reduced their consumption. However, those who had previously used less actually increased their consumption the following month. Seemingly all homes on the street were influenced by "what everybody else does" and they found themselves aiming for a magnetic middle.
Efforts for improving punctuality in a workplace backfired when employees were told that the average member of staff arrives late over 5% of the time. The effect was an increase in lateness as those who had been 100% punctual until then realised they could 'afford' to be late more often.
In our efforts to influence people to adopt a healthier lifestyle we often use headline statistics such as "65% of UK adults are now overweight or obese", "Only 1 in 8 people eat enough fruit and vegetables", "Most teenage girls do no sport or physical activity", "70% of UK don't walk enough", "More than 3 out of 5 car journeys are less than 5 miles". Are we perhaps presenting social norms that will make people modify their behaviour in an undesirable way? Will teens think it's ok to start smoking if they learn that two thirds of all smokers start when they are under 18? Will those trying to lose weight believe they can succeed in the long-term if they learn that 90% of slimmers re-gain their lost weight.
So how can we phrase our headlines in a way that won't backfire? Firstly, focus on the positive part of the message and secondly, present any figures in a way that make it seem like many people are doing the desirable behaviour. Instead of saying "70 percent of us don't walk enough steps every day", say for example "Following our recent stepometer challenge, 200 more people in (town name) have successfully increased their levels of walking and they feel fantastic - you too can do it and here's how!" or "500 people have already signed up for a 5km fun run!" Our brains are wired to think that numbers like 200 or 500 is simply "lots" and we will reason that lots of people are doing it, and as we are motivated to follow the behaviours of other we might just try it too!
Hampson Solutions Ltd, Connaught House, Riverside Business Park, Benarth Road, Conwy LL32 8UB
Tel: 01492 584002 | Mobile: 07727 642846 | Fax: 01492 517815
Email: denise@hampsonsolutions.co.uk | Web: www.hampsonsolutions.co.uk
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