(2007) Hamara Healthy Living Centre - an Evaluation
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Citation: South, J and Akhionbare, K and Farrar, M and Gomez, L and Newell, C and Tilford, S (2007) Hamara Healthy Living Centre - an evaluation. Project Report. Centre for Health Promotion Research, Leeds Metropolitan University. Link to Leeds Beckett Repository record: https://eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/id/eprint/838/ Document Version: Monograph (Other) The aim of the Leeds Beckett Repository is to provide open access to our research, as required by funder policies and permitted by publishers and copyright law. The Leeds Beckett repository holds a wide range of publications, each of which has been checked for copyright and the relevant embargo period has been applied by the Research Services team. We operate on a standard take-down policy. If you are the author or publisher of an output and you would like it removed from the repository, please contact us and we will investigate on a case-by-case basis. 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HAMARA Healthy Living Centre – An evaluation Jane South, Kate Akhionbare, Max Farrar, Lewis Gomez, Caroline Newell, Sylvia Tilford CENTRE FOR HEALTH PROMOTION RESEARCH NOVEMBER 2007 www.leedsmet.ac.uk/healthpromotion/chpr -HAMARA Healthy Living Centre – An evaluation November 2007 Centre for Health Promotion Research Jane South Kate Akhionbare Max Farrar Lewis Gomez Caroline Newell Sylvia Tilford Hamara Healthy Living Centre 1 An evaluation Contents Executive Summary Contents Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 10 2 Background 12 3 Evaluation approach and methods 15 4 Findings: community survey 18 4.1 Characteristics of respondents 18 4.2 Awareness and use of Hamara services 20 4.3 Barriers to accessing services 22 4.4 Quality of services 25 4.5 Impact on health and well-being 27 4.6 Suggestions for improvement 29 5 Findings: Young people’s survey 32 5.1 Young people- awareness and use of the Hamara Centre 32 5.2 Young people- Views on the quality of services 35 5.3 Impact on the health and well-being 35 5.4 Suggestions for improvement 37 6 Interview Findings 39 6.1 Contribution 39 6.2 Communities served 43 6.3 Community cohesion 47 6.4 Working in partnership 49 7 Summary of evidence 53 7.1 Is Hamara meeting its objectives? 54 8 Conclusion 61 References 62 Appendices Appendix 1: The nine strands of work Hamara deliver 64 Appendix 2: Hamara self evaluation framework 66 Appendix 3: Survey of Hamara Centre users and community members 68 Appendix 4: Organisations involved in stakeholder interviews 78 Hamara Healthy Living Centre 2 An evaluation Hamara Healthy Living Centre 3 An evaluation List of figures Figure 1 Age groups of respondents 18 Figure 2 Ethnic groups of respondents 19 Figure 3 Reported status of respondents 19 Figure 4 Awareness and use of Hamara services 20 Figure 5 Reported frequency of visits to Hamara services 22 Figure 6 Finding out about Hamara 22 Figure 7 Reported difficulties in accessing services 23 Figure 8 Reasons for not using Hamara services 24 Figure 9 Importance of socio-cultural aspects 25 Figure 10 Importance of communication and support 26 Figure 11 Importance of location and diet 26 Figure 12 Extent of success of Hamara 29 Figure 13 Suggestions for improvement 30 Figure 14 Young people– Ethnicity 32 Figure 15 Young people– Awareness and use of Hamara services 33 Figure 16 Young people- Reported frequency of visits to Hamara 34 Figure 17 Finding out about Hamara 34 Figure 18 Extent of success of Hamara 37 List of tables Table 1 Age (%) in Beeston 12 Table 2 Ethnicity- Major ethnic groups 12 Table 3 Reported use of advice and support services 21 Table 4 Reported extent of services provided by Hamara 27 Table 5 Impact on health and well-being provided 28 Table 6 Young people- Reported use of advice & support services 33 Table 7 Young people- views on Hamara’s provision of services 35 Table 8 Impact on health and well-being 36 Table 9 Young peoples’ suggestions for improvements 38 Table 10 Barriers to services 54 Table 11 Evidence summary 55 Hamara Healthy Living Centre 4 An evaluation List of boxes Box 1 Hamara’s aims and objectives 9 Box 2 Links with a local school 50 Box 3 Hamara- strengths 59 Hamara Healthy Living Centre 5 An evaluation Acknowledgements The evaluation was conducted in collaboration with Hamara. We would like to thank: • Hamara board members, management and staff for their help in planning the evaluation and in carrying out the community and youth survey; • The Faculty of Health, Leeds Metropolitan University, for providing additional resources to support the evaluation; • Mumtaz Khan and Sally Foster, Faculty of Health, who have given invaluable advice and practical support to the evaluation; • Frances Darby, Marianne Kennedy and Karina Kinsella who assisted with data collection; • All those people who gave up their time to be interviewed or complete questionnaires. Hamara Healthy Living Centre 6 An evaluation Hamara Healthy Living Centre – An evaluation Executive Summary Hamara - what does it do? The Hamara Healthy Living Centre was set up in 2004 and is based in Beeston, South Leeds. Since the Centre opened, Hamara has sought to address health issues and social exclusion in this multi-ethnic community. The Centre is open to all members of the local community; however, its main focus has been providing a community resource for the local Asian population. Hamara’s core value is stated as ‘bringing communities together’. The overall approach is based on a holistic view of health, the provision of services which are culturally appropriate, use of methods which empower and enable individuals, and improving access to services through support and advice. There are nine strands of work and numerous activities with a mix of centre based and outreach activities. Hamara offers community facilities, including a gym and a community café, and works with different population groups from children through to the elderly. Evaluation methods The Centre for Health Promotion Research (CHPR), Leeds Metropolitan University, was commissioned to undertake an evaluation of the healthy living initiative. A collaborative approach was adopted working in partnership with Hamara management and staff to develop and implement an evaluation plan. The evaluation was carried out between May and September 2007. It involved a survey of 189 centre users and local residents to gather quantitative data on the user perspective. An additional survey was carried out with 30 young people attending Hamara. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 key informants from local organisations working with alongside or directly with Hamara. Findings: Community and Youth Surveys Overall, the Hamara Healthy Living Centre was regarded as a helpful and successful programme. There is a high level of satisfaction with Hamara from its service users. Most adults and young people attending Hamara agreed that it always provided a friendly atmosphere, a safe non threatening environment and supportive staff. The survey also found that: • There was a good range of health and health-related activities being used. • There was some lack of awareness of Hamara’s activities in the wider community. Over a third of those not using Hamara had not heard of it. • People attending Hamara reported positive impacts on individual health and well-being. Over half of those who used Hamara Hamara Healthy Living Centre 7 An evaluation reported that it had helped them meet with local people, access health information and advice, keep physically active, feel more confident, and happier. Overall, results indicated that Hamara was meeting community needs. Suggestions for improving services included more publicity and information, making Hamara more open to other groups in the community and additional activities for both adults and young people. Findings: Interviews with partner organisations From the qualitative interviews held with organisations working in partnership with Hamara Centre, common themes included: • Hamara was seen as responsive to community needs. • A holistic approach to health underpins a wide range of health and health related activities. • Hamara was seen to promote mental health through tackling social isolation and provides a safe space for people to develop. • The centre serves the Asian population well and is successful at reducing barriers to accessing services. • There was an aspiration to serve all the community but there are barriers to widening access; including community perceptions, and the lack of diversity in staffing. • Hamara was regarded as a well run organisation that delivers. It is well respected as a community resource and a quality community venue. • A partnership approach was used and there were many links with other local organisations, particularly around the youth work. • Hamara was seen to have a role in providing community cohesion along with other local agencies. Conclusion The evaluation aimed to assess how well Hamara was making progress towards its long-term goals. There is strong evidence that Hamara is successfully meeting its central objectives and minimising barriers to service use. It has a programme of activities and services on offer which meet cultural, mental health, physical health and social needs. In addition, Hamara is seen as having a key role in promoting community cohesion.