Lewisham plans to test their powers to restrict advertising of products high in fat, salt or sugar and utilise unsold advertising space to promote tailored local health promotion campaigns co-designed with the community.
The Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care and administered by the Local Government Association. Public Health England also providing expert support and advice.
Lewisham plans to test their powers to restrict advertising of products high in fat, salt or sugar and utilise unsold advertising space to promote tailored local health promotion campaigns co-designed with the community.
Progress
- Developed food and physical activity environment survey for schools to better understand C-19 impact on whole school approach and initiatives like The Daily Mile & Sugar Smart
- Inspire Your Imagination commenced work in December on their poster to improve uptake of the Daily Mile - will be displayed in the borough from March
- Local evaluation partner Ottoway worked with partners to engage 2-4 local young people to be trained as fieldwork researcher placements
- Local delivery partner facilitated a workshop with steering group members to agree what ‘good’ looks like around future working with food businesses.
Challenges
- Continual impact Covid is having on recruiting media owners to join the programme
- Impact of Covid: many businesses not in a position to take on new work
- Lack of NCMP data for 2020/21
Learnings
- Posters are a very powerful communication medium
- Close working relations with partners are very beneficial
- Working with local partners has provided a good learning platform for all involved
- Important to continually reflect back on original aims of project
Next steps
- Engaging other media owners in the Lewisham voluntary restrictions
- Continue working closely with Out of Home advertising partners
- Repeat 2x 200 person surveys in January & March depending on poster displayed
- Focus group with co-production participants
- Train young people as fieldwork researchers and participate in the street surveys this quarter
- Delivery support partner to start work on engaging food businesses through a series of workshops/roundtable discussions. Identify training/resources to support food businesses amend their food offer
- Develop nutrition resources for Black African and Caribbean communities in collaboration with Kings College – following learning from insight work and Lewisham Obesity Alliance
- Semi structured interviews with key stakeholders (via steering group)
- Lewisham’s communication team to review comms plan for the Trailblazer and work on logo
- Conduct insight work with young people to understand how the local neighbourhood influences their health behaviours and what impact (if any) covid has had on young people’s choices.