The Healthy Lifestyles Team as part of NHS Walsall Community Health commissioned Walsall Arts into Health to manage and develop a series of creative and participatory events to help capture and gather people’s experiences of the services they have received and encountered that are provided by the Healthy Lifestyles Team. The aim of the events was for them to be engaging, friendly and accessible using creative approaches that would result in documented feedback in the form of a publication report and information website as well as a developing a toolkit of resources to leave with the commissioners so that the activities and approaches could be used at future health promotion events.

Map my Journey was commissioned to build on exiting methods used by the team for gathering customer feedback. Currently this done by using self satisfaction surveys, but more creative approaches were sought to help gather more in depth feedback and capture the real journeys that people embark on to help improve their lifestyle.

NHS Walsall Healthy Lifestyle Team provides a range of health services for local people including Health Trainers, Physical Activity, Breastfeeding support, Smoking Cessation, Mental Health and Well, Substance Misuse, Sexual Health and Healthy Workplace Awards. The team engages over 16,000 people annually through the range of services it provides. Gathering service user feedback is a priority for the team to assist them in continuing to review and develop their service provision. So ‘Map my Journey’ was designed and delivered!

The concept behind the ‘Map my Journey’ service user events and creative consultation activities were developed by Urban Voice Theatre Ltd and Walsall Creative Development Team to focus on mapping individual client journeys within lifestyle services, providing an opportunity for service users to feedback comments, personal stories, reflections, experiences and recommendations and capturing in depth insight into people’s views and opinions.

The theme of a ‘journey’ was used throughout the events which resulted in participants having to travel to six interactive stands or ‘check points’ where facilitators were on hand to help capture responses to specific questions. Stands included a sat nav audio feedback station, video diary room, photo booth and visual arts activity.

The events were planned through consultation meetings with staff from NHS Community Health Lifestyle Team ensuring that questions asked through ‘Map my Journey’ would be of value to the team and capture the real experiences of service users.

To gain a snap shot of people’s individual journey’s participants travelled from each facilitated ‘checkpoint’, each checkpoint focused on a different aspect of their journey:

CHECKPOINT 1: FOOTSTEPS

How did your Healthy Lifestyle journey begin?

Service users were encouraged to share the reasons that made them decide to look to an NHS service for support and advice?

• What were your main reasons for seeking support?
• How did you feel before seeking support?
• Were you referred into the service? If yes, by who?

CHECKPOINT 2: ROUTE FINDER

How did you find your way?

Service users were encouraged to inform us of how their individual journeys began. Participants gave feedback via a Sat Nav style voice recording.

• When did your Healthy Lifestyle journey start?
• What first steps did you take?
• What services did you seek?
• How did you find out about the service?
• How did you get started?

CHECKPOINT 3: SPOKES ON A WHEEL

How did you feel on your travels?

Service users were encouraged to inform us of the actual services they took part in.

• What were the strengths and weakness of the service/s
• What helped you stay motivated?
• What support did you have?
• How did attending the sessions make you feel?
• What was good and what didn’t you like?

CHECKPOINT 4: ROADSIDE RECOVERY

How did you deal with the challenges on the way?

This stand explored the various challenges that have occurred during each personal journey.

• What have been the challenges you’ve faced?
• How did you overcome the challenges?
• What do you feel hasn’t worked and why?
• What has worked and why?

CHECKPOINT 5: TAKING FLIGHT

What changed along the way?

This stand captured the specific behaviour changes that have taken place during or since participants individual healthy lifestyle journeys began.

• What changes have you made to your lifestyle?
• Are you continuing with the changes? If yes, what changes are you continuing with? If no, why? What have been the difficulties?
• Do you feel that you still require support? If so what type of support and why?

CHECKPOINT 6: FINAL DESTINATION QUESTIONS

Where are you now? 

Participants worked alongside a visual artist to create a final statement (in the style of a road sign) that summed up their journey and the success they have experienced. Once completed participants posed for a final photo where they held their statement/road sign.

• What word/phrase best describes your healthy lifestyle journey?
• What impact has the service had upon you?

CHECKPOINT 7: DIARY ROOM

• Can you sum up in one sentence what your Healthy Lifestyle Journey has been like?
• Can you tell us 3 positives about your Healthy Lifestyle Journey?
• If a friend was thinking about taking their own Healthy Lifestyle Journey – what advice would you give them?

The ‘Map my Journey’ project is still being delivered. More will be added soon!

However due to the success of the diary room as a effective way to capture people’s experiences the ‘Map My Journey’ diary room recently toured to the NHS Community Health- Healthy Workplace Awards ceremony, where as part of the event employers and employees were invited to pop into the diary room share to camera their experiences and reflections of being involved in the Walsall’s Healthy Workplace scheme.

Service users visited check point 6 and supported by a visual artist Pete Chaplin created road signs  that summed up their experiences and positive reflections on the healthy lifestyle journeys.

CHECKPOINT 6: FINAL DESTINATION QUESTIONS

Where are you now? 

• What word/phrase best describes your healthy lifestyle journey?
• What impact has the service had upon you?

[Show as slideshow]

The project is still being delivered. More will be added soon!

The following ‘Map My Journey’ resources are currently being developed:

• ATLAS: a document that highlights examples of people’s healthy lifestyle journeys and reflects the help, support, challenges and successes of the services encountered and personal experiences.
• WEBSITE: An online tool linked to NHS Walsall website that hosts people’s experiences and the services available. It is hoped the website will be used as a way for people to find out more about the local services, give feedback to NHS Staff and for staff to promote the services available.
• TOOLKIT: Activities and supporting information and templates for staff to deliver Map my Journey consultation activities at future events
• DIARY ROOM: Touring diary room (with facilitators) which can be commissioned for individual events.