It is a myth that Britons do not want to talk about their health – report
Research suggests Britons back more efforts to talk about health and wellbeing, such as chats about nutritious food, exercise and safe alcohol levels.
It is a myth that Britons do not want to talk about their health, with people supporting more training for staff in workplaces, schools and gyms, a new report suggests.
The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) study found the public largely back more efforts to talk about health and wellbeing, such as chats about nutritious food, exercise and safe alcohol levels.
The new study warned the “UK is currently in the midst of a public health crisis, with healthy life expectancy falling and long-term health conditions such as chronic pain and diabetes on the rise”.
It said this is in large part “driven by the stark increase in obesity and the prevalence of behaviours such as excessive alcohol consumption and smoking, which contribute to poor health”.
The NHS is struggling to meet the demand of this crisis and long waiting lists often mean that conditions worsen whilst people are waiting for treatment, the report added.
Solutions such as Making Every Contact Count (MECC), which has already been rolled out in some settings, could be really effective if used more widely, the authors continued.
With MECC, staff are trained to have short and informal conversations with the aim of prompting behaviour and lifestyle changes in areas such as exercise, food, alcohol, the menopause and mental health.
The report calls for the widespread rollout of MECC across everyday settings including workplaces, care homes, gyms, and schools.
A survey of more than 1,700 members of the public for the report found 64% agree that employers or managers should receive training, while 69% thought the same about teachers and education staff.
Some 66% agreed that staff in gyms or sports clubs should be trained, and 76% thought the same for community health staff such as physiotherapists and pharmacists.
An evaluation of MECC for mental health in NHS North East and Yorkshire found that it promoted more than 38,500 conversations about mental health every two weeks.
In his foreword to the report, William Roberts, chief executive of the RSPH, said: “We urgently need to implement preventative public health measures to encourage healthy lifestyles and address health concerns early on.
“Whether it is walking to work more or switching to low alcohol alternatives, the public need to be supported in how to make small healthy choices that can quickly add up to significant improvements in outcomes.”
He added: “There are millions of conversations that happen everyday that could be so much more impactful if health came up.
“There’s a perception that as a nation we prefer shying away from talking about our health and wellbeing. We need to move away from this and get talking.
“Early interventions like MECC that encourage people to make healthier choices will be key to moving to a truly preventative approach.
“Prevention in its truest form is about empowering the public to stay well and out of hospitals.
“Making that a reality will mean embedding the ethos of prevention across society through interventions like MECC.”
