HealthWise Wales Spring 2017 Newsletter
Events 2017
We have been meeting the public to talk about research and the importance of signing up! In March, we attended the Health and Care Research Wales event and asked 'What do you think is the biggest health challenge in Wales?' This prompted lots of discussion, with most people voting for "Obesity" as the number one health issue in Wales.
New advertising campaign
We've kick-started our new campaign to drive sign ups this year with the help of our case studies Warwick, Helen and Sara. An additional 3500 people have signed up so far, making a total of almost 10,000, but we still need thousands more. You can help us by sharing the link www.healthwisewales.gov.wales with friends and family and encouraging them to sign up too. Look out for our press campaign starting soon with some interesting activity taking place throughout Wales.
Updates
We have updated the questionnaires available for you to fill in. Log on and check if there are any outstanding questionnaires for you. This month, we are also launching a new questionnaire for pregnant women. If you're pregnant, your information is valuable to us and can help us improve maternity services. For more information about updates and new questionnaires click here.
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Opportunities to take part in mental health research
Researchers at the National Centre for Mental Health are working to find out more about the causes of mental health problems. The research team are interested in talking to people who have experienced a mental health problem, as well as people who have not, to help learn more about the reasons that some people become unwell. They hope that the research will improve diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems in the future. We will be sending you information soon on how to take part in this reearch.
Training our new champions in Wales
The HWW Team have been visiting Health Boards providing facilitator training to NHS staff across Wales. Over 70 members of staff have been trained to communicate the initiative to the public. They will be promoting HealthWise Wales through community groups, schools and events near you, so keep an eye out for them!
Our Champions have been spreading the word, attending events such as the St. Athan's public library opening, alongside Alun Cairns - Secretary of State for Wales. For the first two weeks of May, many of our supporters and champions will be involved in promoting HealthWise Wales to pregnant women and their families in a number of antenatal clinics.
