Healthy Respect Evaluation
About Lothian's Healthy Respect Demonstration Project
Healthy Respect is one of four demonstration projects funded by the Scottish Executive. The intervention consists of inter-related strands of work and has developed in response to the current policy framework, and to issues raised in the literature and to localised concerns.
The demonstration project sets out to improve the sexual health of young people in Lothian. The strategic aims are both to 'promote positive sexual health and relationships' and to 'communicate the work in a way that helps promote understanding about how and why outcomes emerge, thus allowing maximum appreciation of transferability potential throughout Scotland'.
The twelve individual interventions will be co-ordinated and facilitated by Lothian Health. The interventions either build on existing work or take an innovative approach to teenage sexuality. Thus, the strategy is to work across a variety of settings, with some interventions taking a Lothian wide approach while others will be targeted at specific areas. A key element of the project is to consult with young people themselves in meaningful ways.
About the Evaluation Study of Healthy Respect
A multidisciplinary team at the University of Aberdeen will independently evaluate the demonstration project from three key perspectives:
- Sexual health outcomes for young people in Lothian
- Organisation and performance of provider groups in interagency networks
- Implementation and process of Healthy Respect's 12 component projects.
- Before-and-after study designs in both health and education settings are planned using representative samples and, wherever feasible, controls. Comparative analyses will be undertaken of routine outcome data in Lothian, control region, and Scotland to identify non-attributable trends and potential confounding. Inherent biases between the populations will be addressed using appropriate adjustment for socio-demographic variation.
- Descriptions of before-and-after inventories and mapping of service provision, partnerships and networks and the observation (through diary keeping) of professionals’ contacts and activities will provide insight into effective interagency working.
- Consensual and collaborative working between the co-ordinating team for Healthy Respect, the components’ project directors and the evaluation team will aim to identify key indicators of process and implementation for the individual project components. Furthermore client and providers views of component projects will be sought to identify best practice, perceived impact and acceptability.