Transcript Understanding the use of vouchers and vitamins: an evaluation of women’s and health practitioners’ views and experiences of Healthy Start in.

Understanding the use of vouchers and vitamins: an evaluation of women’s
and health practitioners’ views and experiences of Healthy Start in England
Alison McFadden, Julia Fox-Rushby, Josephine M Green, Victoria Williams, Subhash Pokhrel, Jenny McLeish, Felicia McCormick, Nana Anokye, Melina Dritsaki, Mary J Renfrew
Background
Findings
• Healthy Start aims to improve the health and
nutrition of low-income childbearing women and
children.
• Healthy Start provides vouchers which can be
exchanged for fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables,
plain cows’ milk or infant formula, and coupons for
free vitamin supplements.
• Healthy Start is claimed by around 80% of people
who are eligible for the scheme. but only 1% of
vitamin supplements are claimed.
Practitioners and women thought that Healthy Start
has a positive impact on the
health of women and young
children
provides a nutritional safety net by providing financial support for
the purchase of fruit, vegetables, plain cows’ milk and infant
formula.
A children's centre offer £5
worth of fruit and veg. for
£3.10 voucher.
Aims
To examine how Healthy Start works from the views of
women and practitioners
To provide evidence for how Healthy Start could work
better
Methods
The study was conducted in 2011/2012
Focus groups, a national electronic consultation,
participatory workshops and telephone interviews
explored the views of health practitioners and user
advocates (n=669 of which 228 were health visitors),
and low-income women (n=113).
Two
cross-sectoral
workshops,
attended
by
practitioners, service commissioners, policy-makers and
advocacy groups (n=56) identified barriers and positive
strategies to the study recommendations.
I used to live on junk food - now
I'm eating healthy - without
vouchers I wouldn’t buy fruit and
veg.
increases the quantity and range of
fruit and vegetables in family diets
and establishes good eating habits
will be undermined if the value of the vouchers does not keep pace
with the rising cost of fruit and vegetables
is not easily accessible for women
who do speak or read English or
whose household income is variable
I have five kids, m husband is
self-employed - I want to
access the vouchers when my
husband has no work.
vitamins are not reaching the women and children who need them
The scheme is the
most complicated
one to implement
that I have ever
come across.
In our PCT, we fund Healthy
Start vitamins for ALL
childbearing women and
ALL children under five
years
I knew I was
entitled to
vitamins but
where do you
go to get
them?
Key recommendations
1. Maintain and develop Healthy Start e.g. provide application forms in different languages; index-link the vouchers to food
prices
2. Make vitamin supplements free and universally available for childbearing women, and children up to their fifth birthday
3. Develop a communication strategy to increase awareness of Healthy Start
4. Develop an overarching strategy for vulnerable women to increase early engagement with health services.
5. Provide training for practitioners in all sectors regarding their role in Healthy Start
6. Clarify that the inclusion of infant formula reflects Healthy Start’s aim to provide a nutritional safety net
7. Evaluate the costs and effectiveness of Healthy Start vouchers and vitamins.
Contact: Alison McFadden: [email protected]
You can download the full report at: http://nursingmidwifery.dundee.ac.uk/mother-and-infant-research-unit