Empowering Futures JSNA Survey - Supporting children and young people with their physical health

The Empowering Futures JSNA survey was developed to support the Empowering Futures: Growing Up Well in Warwickshire Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and the development of a Children and Young People Making Every Contact Count (MECC) offer.   

This survey asked respondents to participate if they work or volunteer with children and young people. The aim was to understand how professionals feel about talking to children and young people (aged 5-18) about their physical health, their knowledge and experience of services, and what help professionals need to provide support. It did this by seeking to understand: 

• How comfortable and confident people are in talking to children and young people about their physical health. 
• What they do and where they go if someone thinks a child or young person needs additional support with their health.  
• What they want or need to know about children or young people’s health to improve the support they offer.  
• Their experience of mental and physical health together.  
• Their experience of vulnerable children and young people.  

There were 98 responses to the survey. Below is a summary of key findings and messages relating to the 5 purpose statements above.  To read the full engagement report please click on this link.

How comfortable and confident people are in talking to children and young people about their physical health. 

• When considering the statement “I feel confident talking to children and young people about their physical health”, most respondents said they strongly agreed or agreed with this statement. 
• Respondents felt most confident talking about healthy lifestyles, whilst respondents overall felt least confident talking about long term physical conditions.  

What they do and where they go if someone thinks a child or young person needs additional support with their health. 

• When asked about their role in supporting children and young people with their physical health, half of respondents identified their role as being predominantly signposting and referral to other services. 
• Several respondents provided additional detail in the free text box provided relating to the support they provide in their role, with themes including; guidance, general support of signposting, specific professional roles, and healthy lifestyles.  

What they want or need to know about children or young people’s health to improve the support they offer.  

• Nearly half of respondents were not sure if they needed more information about physical health to improve their support. 38.8% said they needed more information.  
• When considering specific health concerns, nearly a third of respondents felt that services for toileting, sleeping and eating are difficult to access and don’t meet need, which was more than any other health need.  
• When looking at support that is easy to access and meets need, the areas of health with the highest levels of agreement was healthy lifestyles, and alcohol, drugs, smoking and vaping.  

Their experience of mental and physical health together. 

• People responding to the survey said they support with mental health more than physical health. 
• When considering the balance between physical and mental health, just over half of respondents said they supported with mental health most of the time.  
• The majority of respondents said they had used physical health interventions with the aim to also support mental health and wellbeing.  
• Most respondents said they consider physical health needs ‘all of the time’ or ‘most of the time’ alongside mental/emotional health. 
• Most respondents said they had a good knowledge of resources and services to support both mental and physical health. The proportion of respondents who said this about mental health was higher than physical health.  

Their experience of vulnerable children and young people. 

• When considering specific groups of children and young people, the largest proportion of respondents said they worked with and supported the health of children and young people open to social care, children and young people in care, and children and young people who are care experienced.  
• In contrast, young carers were the group for which the highest proportion of respondents said they had worked with but not supported physical health.  
• Most respondents had not worked with children and young people who are part of military families.  

• Responses to the section of the survey on experiences of mental and physical health together were used in the Supporting Resilience and Wellbeing section of the Empowering Futures dashboard, in response to a theme highlighted in the 2023 Mental Health and Wellbeing of Infants, Children, and Young People JSNA. 

• The feedback from the survey helped to inform and shape the recommendations set out in the JSNA, particularly recommendation 6: “Linked to the engagement undertaken as part of this JSNA, the Children and Young Person Making Every Contact Count (MECC) should be utilised to empower practitioners to have strengths-based conversations with children and young people about their health and wellbeing.” 

• Having been approved for publication by the Health and Wellbeing Board on 15th May 2023, the Empowering Futures: Growing Up Well in Warwickshire JSNA, which includes the feedback from this survey, is now being shared and promoted with colleagues across the health and care sector to help inform decision making.  

• An action plan has been created around the recommendations from the JSNA, which the survey helped to inform, which is now being carried out.

For more information on the Empowering Futures: Growing Up Well in Warwickshire JSNA please click on this link.