TY - JOUR
T1 - NHS health trainers: a review of emerging evaluation evidence
AU - Attree, Pamela
AU - Clayton, Stephen
AU - Karunanithi, Sakthi
AU - Nayak, Shilpa
AU - Popay, Jennie
AU - Reed, Donald
PY - 2012/1
Y1 - 2012/1
N2 - Recent years have seen a change in focus
in UK public health policies towards an
emphasis on individual lifestyle choices. As
part of this shift, NHS health trainers were
introduced in disadvantaged communities
in England, to provide peer support to
people ‘at risk’ of developing lifestylerelated
health problems and to help them
to self manage their behaviour. Concerns
have been expressed, however, about the
strength of the evidence supporting the
initiative. This article outlines a number of
gaps between the theory and rhetoric
underpinning the NHS health trainer
initiative, and the reality in practice. This
article critiques the evaluation evidence,
questions the assumption that engaging
lay people in health promotion activities in
place of health professionals is necessarily
a preferable option, identifies
inconsistencies in the evidence supporting
individually based health improvement
initiatives, and suggests that interventions
which target deprived areas but neglect
the social determinants of health may be
limited in their effectiveness.
AB - Recent years have seen a change in focus
in UK public health policies towards an
emphasis on individual lifestyle choices. As
part of this shift, NHS health trainers were
introduced in disadvantaged communities
in England, to provide peer support to
people ‘at risk’ of developing lifestylerelated
health problems and to help them
to self manage their behaviour. Concerns
have been expressed, however, about the
strength of the evidence supporting the
initiative. This article outlines a number of
gaps between the theory and rhetoric
underpinning the NHS health trainer
initiative, and the reality in practice. This
article critiques the evaluation evidence,
questions the assumption that engaging
lay people in health promotion activities in
place of health professionals is necessarily
a preferable option, identifies
inconsistencies in the evidence supporting
individually based health improvement
initiatives, and suggests that interventions
which target deprived areas but neglect
the social determinants of health may be
limited in their effectiveness.
KW - health
KW - evaluation
KW - evidence
U2 - 10.1080/09581596.2010.549207
DO - 10.1080/09581596.2010.549207
M3 - Article (journal)
SN - 0958-1596
VL - 22
JO - Critical Public Health
JF - Critical Public Health
IS - 1
ER -