How Community Health Trainers in Manchester enable positive lifestyle changes

Outcomes

Usha, a mother of three young children, lives in Longsight, Manchester and was struggling to give up smoking.

Usha said that she wouldn’t have succeeded in giving up smoking if she hadn’t had the support and help of her Health Trainer – Jackie: “I know it’s bad for my children, and that my own health is suffering but it’s a habit, and when I’m under pressure I find it really difficult. In my culture it’s really bad for women to smoke, so I have to do it in secret. I had no idea that smoking services existed near to me.  Jackie put me in touch with a local group which was for ladies only and they helped me to come up with ways to take my mind off smoking, such as taking the children to the park, cooking or relaxing in the bath.  Each session I had with Jackie we concentrated on different things and the small steps have made giving up smoking more manageable – especially with having children to look after as well.  She has even phoned me when I couldn’t make a meeting to see how my progress was going.   I‘m looking at how to eat more healthily now because it’s important for the family to be healthy, so I’m off to a Cook and Taste session later this week!”

The Health Trainer’s job is to listen, support and encourage people to make sustained healthy lifestyle choices that fit in with their daily lives. Health Trainers encourage clients to take small steps to achieve their goals.                

Jackie’s experience:

Initial contact “In the first meeting with a client it is important to greet the client in a friendly and approachable manner, so that they are put at ease.  When I met Usha for the first time, she was concerned that other people might find out that she smoked and obviously this was a sensitive subject.  It is important to be non-judgemental and try to understand about people’s backgrounds and cultures.  I managed to find a smoking cessation group that was running at a nearby centre where a crèche was available for young children.  I went with Usha to the first session to give her some support but after this she went to the sessions by herself, as she felt comfortable with the surroundings.  Initially we came up with different ideas of how to take her mind off smoking”.

Continuing contact “I continued to meet with Usha for a few more sessions as she wanted to look at other areas of her health.  We have been looking at healthy eating and are attending a Cook and Taste session to learn more, gain recipe ideas and improve cooking skills”.

Outcome “In this role you can make such a difference to peoples’ lives, often just by listening to them and giving them the support they need.  It’s such a good feeling to know that Usha is successfully making healthy choices for herself and her family”.