The University of Southampton

Tag: EACh-b

First download of EACH-B app as students take part in the new project

Posted on by Sian Bryant

The LifeLab team were excited to begin their brand new research study this week with the first cohort of students taking part in the Engaging Adolescents in Change Behaviour (EACH-B) programme.

The health education project is based on young people discovering for themselves how their lifestyle choices can affect them. The EACH-B project builds on the intervention, combining it with support from teachers and the use of a specially developed smart phone app with game features.


Students from Hamble School were among the first to experience the new intervention being led by Professor Mary Barker, a psychologist and director at LifeLab who specialises in the development and evaluation of behaviour change interventions designed to improve diet, physical activity and well-being.

The EACH-B project is built on the existing LifeLab programme which aims to help young people understand how the decisions they make now could have health implications in later life.

Teenagers who visited LifeLab, which is based at University Hospital Southampton, helped produce the digital game, alongside health researchers and scientists.

Those ideas were then sent to in-game designers at Glasgow Caledonian University who created it and then tested on LifeLab students.

The aim is to educate young people about the impact their lifestyle choices will have on their health and the health of their future children and encourage them to improve their diet and exercise habits.

The £2.2m EACH-B project, led by the University of Southampton, is being funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Programme Grants for Applied Research Programme.

 

 

Students’ photos provide food for thought

Posted on by Sian Bryant

A group of New Forest teenagers has produced a photographic study to support an exciting new programme that aims to help young people live more healthily.

The six students from The Arnewood School in New Milton were supporting a research programme called EACH-B – Engaging Adolescents in Changing Behaviour, run by the University of Southampton.

Students from The Arnewood School have produced a photographic study supporting a research programme run by the University of Southampton. They worked alongside fine art photographer Annabel Foot (pictured)..
Students from The Arnewood School have produced a photographic study supporting a research programme run by the University of Southampton. They worked alongside fine art photographer Annabel Foot (pictured).

Working alongside fine art photographer Annabel Foot, the youngsters spent several weeks using their smartphones to capture young people’s views on food, exercise and health.

The culmination of their studies is now on display at the Forest Arts Centre in New Milton.

Professor Mary Barker, who leads the EACH-B project, said: “The young people’s images give a brilliant insight into the world of young people and how they think.

“They took and selected the photos they wanted us to see, and so created their own messages about eating and exercising. We are delighted that they were prepared to share these images with us.”

As well as being showcased in a photographic exhibition, the Arnewood students’ work also features in a book called ‘Waving Through a Window’. The photographic project, which has been funded by a grant from the Wessex Clinical Research Network, is linked to the EACH-B intervention programme. The programme has also involved young people in the development of an interactive smartphone game which is aimed at supporting teenagers to eat better and exercise more.

EACH-B is funded by the NIHR and run by the Medical Research Council Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit and NIHR Biomedical Research Unit at the University of Southampton.

Nigel Pressnell, Headteacher at The Arnewood School, said “This was a challenging project over a number of months and I am very grateful to Dr Foot, the University of Southampton, and Forest Arts for choosing to work with Arnewood students.

Students at the exhibition launch with Prof Mary Barker, Dr Annabel Foot and Prof Hazel Inskip
Students at the exhibition launch with Prof Mary Barker, Dr Annabel Foot and Prof Hazel Inskip

“The students threw themselves into producing wonderful images and the resulting book and exhibition are very much to the team’s credit. I can see this being the start of a promising career in media for some of them.”

Schools in Southampton are currently being recruited to the EACH-B project. To find out more visit https://www.southampton.ac.uk/lifelab/research/each-b.page.

The Arnewood students’ exhibition runs at the Forest Arts Centre, Old Milton Road, New Milton from 9 January to 8 February 2020. Visit the website here https://www.forest-arts.co.uk/exhibitions

 

Southampton students collaborate in innovative research to promote healthy lifestyles

Posted on by Sian Bryant

Students and staff at two secondary schools in Southampton have taken part in cutting-edge health research aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles in young people.

Science classes at Oasis Academy Mayfield and Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill, Southampton were chosen to take part in an exciting new study programme called EACH-B (Engaging Adolescents in Behaviour Change) with LifeLab, a unique project that enables young people to make better choices about their lifestyles and health based on their own scientific enquiry.

Oasis Mayfield students take part in a LifeLab day
Oasis Mayfield students take part in a LifeLab day

The group of students took part in an assessment as part of a lesson about health which involved having their height and weight recorded, along with completing questionnaires about their diet, lifestyle and wellbeing.

As part of the project, students were asked to wear a watch-like activity tracker for a week, complete a log of their sleep pattern and other activities during their usual day. These assessments will take place twice, four months apart.

David Spratt, the Director of Science at Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill, commented on the day, saying: “It was brilliant to host the EACH-B Research Team at Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill. It is a great opportunity for the students to be part of a real research project particularly around the relevant topic of the health behaviours.”

EACH-B aims to develop an intervention that motivates and supports teenagers to eat better and exercise more through participation in the LifeLab project, from teachers trained to support students to improve their diets and exercise, and by using a specially-designed, interactive smartphone app that involves friends and has game features.

Professor Mary Barker, the EACH-B Project Lead at the University of Southampton, commented: “Oasis Mayfield and Lord’s Hill Academies have been amazing partners in this project.  We could not be doing this ground-breaking piece of research without their support and enthusiasm.  Staff and students at both schools have been full of ideas and energy, and the students have been particularly brilliant in helping us find new ways of measuring and testing this intervention.”

Oasis Mayfield students measure up at LifeLab
Oasis Mayfield students measure up at LifeLab

Robert Forder, Principal of Oasis Academy Lord’s Hill, added: “We are extremely fortunate to be working with LifeLab on this exciting project.  This is part of the Academy’s commitment to provide a modern, world-class curriculum that allows our students to learn first-hand the science behind important health issues.”

LifeLab is based at University Hospital Southampton, and is a joint initiative of the University of Southampton’s School of Education and Faculty of Medicine along with the National Institute for Health Research Southampton Biomedical Research Centre.

Nothing about us, without us

Posted on by Sian Bryant

Dr Kathryn Woods-Townsend, programme manager for LifeLab and member of the ukactive Kids Council, joined hundreds of other delegates for the ukactive National Summit event where the call to action was very clear.

 

This week saw more than 700 decision makers and influencers gather at the QEII Centre in London with one thing in mind – to get the UK more active.

The ukactive National Summit saw the launch of their latest report. Alongside a report on healthy aging was the publication of Generation Inactive 2.0, which painted a worrying picture of what our future could be if we did not address the health and fitness of younger generations.

Latest statistics revealed how just one in four boys and one in five girls in England do the recommended 60 minutes of activity each day while figures from Ofcom report that children aged five to 15 spend nearly two hours a day online during the week and nearly three hours a day at the weekend.

But the mood in the room was one of conviction – we can do something about raising inactivity levels with a united and determined multi-agency effort.

A very clear message also came out of the day – we should be doing less of telling young people what to do, and more of listening to them if we are going to find a solution. The theme of the report: ‘Nothing about us, without us’ resonated throughout the event.

The call to action came from all political sides, from all ages and from all organisations committed to improving the health of the nation.

The summit included some impassioned speakers; from Baroness Tanni Grey Thompson  urging the government to include physical activity at policy level, to Tom Watson MP describing his remarkable weight loss and reversal of Type 2 diabetes through diet and exercise. But none were more inspiring than student Rahela who made the very clear point; young people need to have a voice – involve us, don’t lecture us.

Rahela gives some excellent advice to the summit
Rahela gives some excellent advice to the summit

She urged people in the room to consider how they deal with young people spending too much time on a screen. “Don’t try to stop screen time, but use technology to our advantage.” That really struck a chord with the team from LifeLab as that is the precise approach being adopted for the EACH-B project.

The project, funded by the National Institutes of Health Research, is currently developing an application to run on mobile devices that combines digital platforms to improve the health of younger generations. EACH-B was also praised in the Generation Inactive 2.0 report, for how it was attempting to capitalise on the increasing use of digital technology by younger people and use it to sustain engagement in activity and fitness.

Delegates came away from the day incredibly inspired to redouble efforts in making change happen. There was a feeling of momentum too as we look ahead to National Fitness Day on 26 September, as a real chance for the country to get behind an initiative that will shine a light on just how important getting active is to the health of our generation and those to come.

Game jams, summer schools and media coverage – just another busy week at LifeLab!

Posted on by Sian Bryant

Another week and another hugely busy and exciting one in the world of LifeLab.

As usual we welcomed more students to experience our purpose-built labs with A-level students from Richard Taunton Sixth Form College getting hands-on this week.

Setting up for the game jam
Setting up for the game jam

They also got the opportunity to take part in some media coverage as some of our participants were interviewed for an upcoming article by our colleagues within the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research team – watch this space for when we will be hitting the presses.

Along with welcoming students into LifeLab, our researchers regularly visit schools to gather more vital information and data that helps support all the work we do while at the same time giving students opportunities to improve their health that are being developed right here in Southampton.

We have talked a lot about our exciting new game-based intervention called EACH-B which is really starting to come together and took a huge step forward this week, thanks to the support of Oasis Mayfield.

The staff and students have helped tremendously in the development of the gaming application that we hope will make a real difference in improving the health of future generations.

This week students got to try out a very early prototype of the app; the first time it has been in the hands of students.

The app in action
The app in action

Around 40 of them got to try it out during a two-day ‘game jam’ testing event, providing invaluable feedback on user experience and development.

Overall the concept of the game, essentially collecting a series of items that appeared through the use of the app, seemed to go down well with our testers, who were then given the chance to suggest formats and themes that would appeal to them.

Our game designers from Glasgow Caledonian University had plenty of food for thought as a result of the game jam. As always huge thanks to Oasis Mayfield for their support in allowing us this invaluable development opportunity.

 

 

This week we were also delighted to confirm that our LifeLab Summer School has filled up in record time. Although not feeling very summery weather-wise this week, we are looking forward to a bright programme in July with 40 aspiring doctors taking part.

We had no shortage of students from years 9 to 11 signing up to the two-day event where they will be given a real insight into the medical profession through workshops in performing clinical skills, experiencing anatomy and pathology teaching and watching a trauma team respond to an emergency scenario.

The summer will no doubt come around in a flash, but there will be plenty to pack in before then.

 

Milestone moment for LifeLab

Posted on by Sian Bryant

There has been much to celebrate at LifeLab this week. Four years ago we opened our laboratory doors to a brand new project aimed at engaging the next generation in the science behind health messages so that they could look forward to healthy futures.
This week we saw the 7,000th student walk through those same doors, marking just how far the programme has come.

board
Big numbers at LifeLab this week

St Edmund’s Catholic school from Portsmouth celebrated the milestone with us as it was their visit that pushed us past the 7,000-student mark.
Along with all the usual array of hands-on experiments that comes with a day at LifeLab, the students were also given some stationary, so they could remember making the milestone with us.

stedmunds
St Edmund’s Catholic school pupils celebrate the milestone with us

Our programme leader Programme leader Kathryn Woods-Townsend said: “We are thrilled that in only four years since LifeLab opened over 7,000 teenagers from across the South Coast have participated in the program.

“These teenagers are the next generation – engaging them with the science behind the health messages, so that they understand the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices now will ensure that not only will they be healthier as they grow up, but that these health benefits will be passed onto their future families.”

stedmundspupilpupil-testing

And the celebrations don’t stop there as we are looking forward to the official launch of the EACh-b programme which aims to improve the diets and physical activity levels of adolescents.

We will be welcoming our partners to LifeLab on Monday to celebrate this new chapter while some of our team will take part in some training so we will be better equipped to tackle this exciting research.