Health Promotion International, Vol. 4, No. 3, 215-222, 1989
© Oxford University Press 1989
research-article |
Supporting self help—six years of work in an English city
Leader of the Self Help Team Nottingham, UK The work of the Nottingham Self Help Team, initially starting in 1982 as a small experiment after some small scale work at Nottingham Council for Voluntary Service (NCVS), is now well established. Initially financed through joint finance, it is now largely funded by mainline health authority funds but still managed by NCVS.
Three particular aspects of its work have proved valuable: work with new groups; involvement in professional training; and the provision of information about groups to both professionals and members of the public. The Team does not start groups, but rather responds to people who wish to do so, using a community work approach. Allies among professionals have proved essential to establish regular training events with professional workers in the health and social services, though the scale of these is still small Indirect information work, for example the publication of an annual directory of self help groups has been as useful as direct provision.
The Team has come to play two particular roles. One is as intermediary, the other in identifying and promoting good practice. A carefully worked out agreement with the HA sets out the degree of accountability. Monitoring and evaluation built into the Team's work from the start have helped changes to be made and the Team's sponsors to feel confident about their support.
Self help groups can play an important and special role in public health policy, but to achieve this on any scale, some intermediary body is needed. The Nottingham Team, though not providing a blueprint, offers one model. Expansion of this sort of work is needed in the UK. In addition changes need to be made in professional practice and training, if the potential of the contribution of self help groups is to be realized.