Creative English for Health: Pushing Back Boundaries

Posted on in category Community, Health and Care, Language by

How do we measure the impact of a project that is based in the arts? It’s not easy.

From 2023-2024, we delivered our Creative English for Cardiovascular Health programme with 586 individuals in 10 different community locations across Birmingham, funded by Public Health as one of the means of addressing the concerning prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular disease within the South Asian and Caribbean communities within the city.

The programme included sessions on talking to doctors, quitting smoking, weight management, going for NHS Health Checks, diabetes and cholesterol, and contacting the emergency services. 

One of the things we realised on the Cardiovascular Programme was just how much potential Creative English for Health has to impact entire families, and not just the learner who engages with the sessions.

Case Studies

For R, the change was in managing her family’s eating habits: switching to healthier fats and oils in order to reduce the risk of disease.

In the case of S, her learning was significant because it enabled her to manage her husband’s condition (he had recently suffered a heart attack).

B had a mother-in-law who was diabetic, and therefore needed to understand how best to help her to live healthily.

‘I helped my father and brother to stop smoking after I took part in the session on smoking and COPD. I used what I learnt and then downloaded the Quit with Bella app for my brother, which they followed, until both my brother and father successfully stopped smoking.’ Learner

‘I have encouraged my friends and neighbours to go for morning walks and started a regular group. This course made me realize the importance of exercise for a healthy heart.’ Learner

FaithAction is currently funded to deliver a new pilot programme in Birmingham, Creative English for Infant Health, which is aimed at helping to reduce the rates of infant mortality within the communities we work with. Soon we will be out visiting the sessions, chatting with learners, and later in the summer we will be producing a report on our findings from the initial 3-hub pilot. What will the ripples from this new project be? What will the stories sound like, and how will the magic of Creative English show up? I can’t wait to find out.

About Charlie Gibson

Engagement Officer

Charlie works across multiple FaithAction projects supporting the organisations we work with to deliver their work in their communities. She trains and supports volunteers to run Creative English, as well as co-writing the course material with Anne—most recently focussing on Creative English for Health: Caring for my Family.

As part of her client-facing role, Charlie loves visiting the projects and organisations we work with and can often be found joining in with Creative English sessions, having her blood pressure tested, doing a yoga class, or even cycling nine miles around London parks on our Faith Health Action Partnership project in Tower Hamlets.

In 2020, she completed a Masters in Applied Theatre: Drama in Education, Community and Social Contexts at Goldsmiths, University of London. Outside of work, Charlie lives with her husband on a 62ft narrowboat, which is painted the same colour as their favourite bird—the kingfisher.

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