February 1, 2021

Sixth Formers Support the NHS

Sixth Formers have been helping the NHS during lockdown to gain a better understanding of health information interpretation in young people.

Alison Horner le Riche, NHS  Library and Knowledge Services Manager, introduced the project to students remotely using a video to explain the importance of Health Literacy and the way in which our Sixth Formers could participate in the initiative. Over Christmas students completed the pre-survey offering their insights and opinions based on their own experiences to date. In January, Alison and her team scheduled two one-hour long interactive sessions on Zoom for our students to discuss various scenarios and address specific areas of interest to the project. The first session focussed on food labels and how useful they are for health information together with the accessibility of medication instructions. The second concentrated on different practical health scenarios facing students as they begin university.

Upper Sixth Former, Catherine, who participated in both workshops reflected, “As Sixth Formers head to university, they are in charge of looking after their own health and knowing what they need to know is useful for making information accessible and understandable.” Jonathan Porter-Hughes, English teacher, who oversaw Leighton Park’s involvement, commented after the first online meeting, “It was a positive session today looking at food labels to evaluate the clarity of their health information and instructions for administering paracetamol and jext. The workshop next week will be more practical, and scenario based. I think that Catherine and Emma got a lot out of the session. The girls had their cameras on for the whole session and were increasingly comfortable to contribute as it progressed.”

Catherine concluded, “I enjoyed discussing potential outcomes for suggested situations and then discussing them. It was very informative and enjoyable.”

The girls’ contribution is part of a pilot scheme that will lead to resources being produced for young people, based on these user feedback sessions. Alison is planning to run another session towards the end of this term once her team have put the materials together and we look forward to ongoing involvement to support the NHS in this important research.

 

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