Canterbury Christ Church University |

South East Coastal Communities (SECC) Kent and Medway is a project involving the three Universities at Medway working with members of the Swale community in order to improve the overall health and wellbeing of the area through knowledge exchange between HEIs and the voluntary and community sector.  Professor Annmarie Ruston is the Academic Lead for the SECC project for Canterbury Christ Church University and as such is leading the below projects.

For further information on SECC Kent and Medway please visit their website|.

Adult Carers

Project lead: Professor Annmarie Ruston
Project team: Gillian Wells and Sharon Manship
Partner: Swale Carers Centre

Background: Carers who provide high levels of care for sick or disabled relatives are more than twice as likely to suffer from poor health compared to people without caring responsibilities. Emotional and mental health problems are more often associated with care giving than physical health problems, and carers are more likely than non carers to report high levels of psychological distress, which can include anxiety, depression and loss of self esteem.  

Aim:  To support adult carers to improve physical and mental health and wellbeing for themselves and those for whom they provide care, within the context of their constricted lifestyles.

Methods: The project will commence with the identification of problems faced by carers in their efforts to adopt and maintain a healthy, balanced diet, undertake physical activity, identify and manage their stress and prevent care related injuries. The project team will conduct 'diagnostic group sessions' in which carers will discuss their problems, solutions and needs.

Expected outcomes: The project will develop a self help programme for adult carers and the cared for which provides them with the skills to adopt a healthy, balanced diet, increase their levels of physical activity, reduce their mental stress and provide them with the skills to safely undertake manual handling activities. The programme will be devised to be achievable within the physical space, time and budgetary constraints experienced by carers and their families.

Community Writers

Project lead: Professor Annmarie Ruston
Project team: Gillian Wells and Sharon Manship
Partners: Sheppey & Sittingbourne Writers Group, Sheppen Women's Writing Group

Background: The incidence, prevalence and experience of health and disease and their determinants are unequally distributed. Risk to health can attribute to a range of social, economic and environmental factors operating within the places that populations occupy. Place is a meaningful unit because place itself shapes actions - everyday lives are spatially structured and every place we live in has certain levels of hazards and risk associated with its various social, economic and cultural components.

Aim: To develop autobiographical, biographical and fictional responses to the links between health and wellbeing and the experience of living in Swale. To use these responses to underpin a health promotion training programme.

Methods: University input to core writers group about auto/biographical writing, research techniques and resilience. The writers will conduct interviews with others based in Swale and produce stories. The stories will be analysed and fed into the health promotion training programme which will be undertaken by 15 voluntary and community sector groups who will be provided with the skills to cascade the training to other groups.

Expected outcomes: The dissemination of texts in order to raise community awareness of public health issues. In addition, a health promotion training programme which will enable voluntary and community sector organisations working with vulnerable people to provide effective mental health promotion to improve the wellbeing of their clients.

Gypsy/Traveller Support Group

Project lead: Professor Annmarie Ruston
Project team: Sharon Manship
Partner: Canterbury Gypsy Support Group

Background: The overall health status of Gypsies and Travellers is relatively poor when compared with other socially deprived or excluded groups and very poor when compared with their non-Gypsy counterparts. A survey of Gypsies/Travellers in Swale found that the health problems experienced by this population included arthritis, back problems, depression, heart disease, stomach problems and emphysema. The culture of Gypsy/Traveller communities is distinct and diverse and their attitudes and beliefs about health contribute to the higher incidence of disease.

Aim:  To support the establishment of the Swale Gypsy Support Group and to empower Gypsies/Travellers to improve and maintain their health through effective self management supported by 'gypsy health trainers'.

Methods: The project will commence with the establishment of the Swale Gypsy Support Group, under the auspices of which a training needs analysis will be undertaken. This work will provide an understanding of health issues and behaviours from the group's perspective and ensure that the health promotion training meets their needs. Suitable methods of delivery will also be identified and will be expected to involve novel and non traditional approaches to training.

Expected outcomes: An ongoing tailored preventative training programme from which five people will be recruited and paid to act as 'health trainers' within their own communities over a period of six months.

Singing for Mental Health

Project lead: Professor Annmarie Ruston
Partners: Sidney De Haan Centre, Sheppey Matters

Background: The Journey to Recovery report (DH, 2001, p.24) argues that the majority of people with mental health issues can ultimately take control of their lives and recover if they are supported by appropriate services that create an optimistic, positive approach, and that these services should be available in community settings. It also highlights the needs of carers and members of the public who need to be involved if discrimination is to be avoided.

Aim: To establish a singing group at Sheppey Healthy Living Centre (Sheerness) for the social and emotional benefits that group singing brings to aid recovery.

Methods: Training and mentoring will be provided by University staff for participants and volunteers in the following skills areas of the project:

Expected outcomes: This project for mental health service users is expected to improve confidence, concentration, learning, breathing and posture control. It is also expected to lead to positive wellbeing outcomes such as enjoyment, peer support, social cohesion through teamwork, a feeling of worth and giving to others and building socialising networks and support.

Swale Transport

Project lead: Professor Annmarie Ruston
Project team: Gillian Wells
Partner: Swale Seniors Forum

Background: Independence is important for the wellbeing of older and mobility impaired people and transport is critical to independent living. Swale is the second lowest density area in Kent - it has no district hospital and other services including, health centres, libraries, leisure and social facilities and shopping areas can be difficult to access for older people with reduced mobility, frailty and lower incomes.

Aim: To reduce isolation of older people and those with impaired mobility by providing information and support to improve their access to vital services including shopping areas, health, leisure services and social events.

Methods: A survey of 1,000 older people will be conducted in addition to focus group discussions with specific sections of the target population to explore in more detail their real life experiences of transport systems.

Expected outcomes: The data will be analysed and fed into the production of an information toolkit which will enable voluntary sector organisations to provide help and information to their clients. The toolkit will include examples of the types of transport systems that older and impaired people use, which systems are suitable or can be adapted with modifications to social, psychological or environmental factors. Hint and tips on how to use systems will also be given.

Young Carers

Project lead: Professor Annmarie Ruston
Project team: Gillian Wells and Sharon Manship
Partner: Swale Carers Centre

Background: Large numbers of children and young people in the UK are involved in some kind of care for members of their family, often a parent. Research has shown that being a young carer can affect children in a number of ways, including experiencing physical problems, mental health problems, isolation from their peers, bullying and the adverse effect on elements of their transition to adulthood, such as a lack of higher/further education and employment opportunities.

Aim:  To achieve an improvement in the physical and mental health and transition into adulthood of young carers in Swale.

Methods: The project will commence with the identification of problems faced by young carers and the ways in which they would like their problems to be addressed. Young carers will play a key part of the project and would be expected to support its ongoing development.

Expected outcomes: Based on expressed needs a personal development programme will be developed which will be delivered in a variety of ways to fit in with the young carers needs. The development and delivery of the programme will be supported by University staff and a project worker who will also train Swale Carers Centre staff to deliver the programme over the longer term. The programme will take the form of a variety of interactive workshops and seminars.

Healthy Relationships Toolkit

Project lead: Professor Annmarie Ruston
Project team: Gillian Wells and Sharon Manship
Partner: Swale Domestic Violence Forum

Background: Swale Domestic Violence Forum works to promote services for both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence in Swale. Often young people become abused or are abusers themselves because of experiences they have had themselves as children. 

Aim: This project will work to help to break the cycle of abuse. The aim of this project is to promote healthy relationships with young people (between the ages of 16 and 24).

Methods: Information on young people's experiences of domestic violence, the way it has affected their physical and mental health, their coping strategies and current services they access be will collected. The young people in the group will be used both as a source of primary data (i.e their own experiences will be recorded) but also as collectors of further information /experiences from their peers.  Based on these stories the group of young people will work with Swale Domestic Violence Forum and CCCU to develop a practical toolkit that would meet their needs and those of their peers.  The toolkit will be piloted and modified as appropriate.  Once the toolkit is finalised it will used as part of a training programme with the view to it being evaluated and becoming a stand alone tool that could be given to 'at risk' young people (e.g young mothers in baby units).

Expected outcome: The production of a healthy relationships toolkit for young people in Swale.

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