An Evaluation of ‘Healthy Weight Tayside’, a whole system approach to child healthy weight in Dundee City (PHIRST Fusion)

PHIRST North evaluation of ‘Healthy Weight Tayside’, a whole systems approach to child healthy weight in Dundee City. Background:

In 2017 the Tayside Regional Improvement Collaborative (TRIC) published the Tayside Plan for Children Young People and Families (2017-2020) with a pledge to develop a child healthy weight strategy. This study aims to learn from the experience of initiating a Whole Systems Approach (WSA) to childhood obesity in Dundee and apply that learning when rolling out to the other two council areas in the Tayside region- Angus and Perth and Kinross.

Research questions:

Does the approach taken in Dundee support key stakeholders to recognise what they can do in relation to actions at different levels within the system? How do/ can co-produced activities (e.g. with children, vulnerable communities) shape this approach? What adaptations to the approach taken in Dundee would be required over time to connect this approach to other 'systems’ (e.g. Mental Health) and implement this approach in other Local Authorities in Tayside?

Methodology

We have used evaluability assessment methods to develop the evaluation design with Participatory Ethnographic Evaluation and Research (PEER) as the preferred option chosen by local stakeholders. The research will consist of four work packages (WP) to facilitate PEER activities.

• WP1: semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders from the working group (n=5-8). regarding WSA development, implementation, and their individual attitudes, beliefs and experiences.

• WP2: Key stakeholders (n=5) interviewed in WP1 will be offered the opportunity and receive training to become peer researchers in the project. As peer researchers, they will observe and interview wider stakeholders in their social networks about role perceptions in the developed system map and their understanding of what they can do in relation to actions at different levels within the system.

• WP3: Survey among wider group of stakeholders, including community members (n=100 approximately) to sense check and deepen findings from WP1&2, modelled on the Stakeholder-driven Community Diffusion Survey for childhood obesity prevention validated and refined by Korn et al (2021).

• WP4: Action learning sets with key stakeholders across the 3 Tayside Local Authorities (n=15) to inform recommendations for future development and adaptation of the WSA across different contexts. Outputs and impact:

By applying this approach, the study aims to help mobilise the evaluation findings across Local Authorities in Tayside on effective development and implementation of the WSA approach. Initial proposed outputs include a full report, a summary of recommendations and a one-page lay summary, although we will continue to work with local stakeholders to ensure outputs reflect their needs.