Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables, figures and boxes
- Glossary
- Notes on the authors
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Series editors’ preface
- one Introduction
- two The policy context
- three Lay health workers in practice
- four Benefits and value
- five The lay perspective
- six Walking for Health – a case study
- seven Sexual health outreach – a case study
- eight Community Health Educators – a case study
- nine Citizen involvement in neighbourhood health – a case study
- ten Commissioning and delivery
- eleven Dispelling the myths
- twelve Future directions
- References
- Appendix The People in Public Health study
- Index
six - Walking for Health – a case study
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2022
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables, figures and boxes
- Glossary
- Notes on the authors
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword
- Series editors’ preface
- one Introduction
- two The policy context
- three Lay health workers in practice
- four Benefits and value
- five The lay perspective
- six Walking for Health – a case study
- seven Sexual health outreach – a case study
- eight Community Health Educators – a case study
- nine Citizen involvement in neighbourhood health – a case study
- ten Commissioning and delivery
- eleven Dispelling the myths
- twelve Future directions
- References
- Appendix The People in Public Health study
- Index
Summary
Chapters Six to Nine present four case studies conducted as part of the People in Public Health study, which illustrate how roles, relationships and support processes work on the ground. The case studies were chosen to represent different approaches to involving lay people in the delivery of public health programmes and also diversity in terms of types of organisation and communities. More detail on the case study methods, sampling and analysis can be found in the Appendix. These case studies, as presented here, are not intended to provide comprehensive descriptions of the projects. Instead, the authors have chosen to present key issues emerging from the data in a thematic way to illuminate some of the most significant themes for public health practice. Real-life examples and verbatim quotations are used to illustrate some of the dilemmas and challenges faced by those engaged in public health activity, whether at a strategic, operational or community level; however, care has been taken to protect the anonymity of respondents by not using project names, locations, specific role titles or individual names.
Introduction
Walking for Health is a national initiative promoting community-based health walks, coordinated until recently through Natural England (Natural England, 2011b), and endorsed by the NHS (Department of Health, 2009). As a public health intervention, Walking for Health has achieved considerable success in terms of the scale of volunteer involvement to support wider participation in health (The Countryside Agency, 2005). The case study presented in this chapter focuses on the organisation and delivery of a local scheme operating across one Primary Care Trust, and the experience of being part of Walking for Health is explored through interviews with practitioners, volunteer walk leaders and participants. Walking schemes offer a simple model of community-based peer support, with volunteers acting independently following initial training. The chapter highlights choices over maintaining an infrastructure to support volunteers, and approaches to managing risk. The responsibilities of the walk leader role are examined and evidence is presented of deeper engagement processes at work in communities. The chapter starts with a summary of the main features of the Walking for Health initiative, prior to more detailed description of the local scheme that formed the case study.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- People-Centred Public Health , pp. 73 - 86Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2012