NSW Health WSLHD Safety & Quality Account 2020-21

WSLHD Leads the Way on New Key Research about Vaping in Schools In May 2023, the WSLHD Prevention Education and Research Unit shared their research findings during the ‘Voices from the Community on the Prevention of Youth Vaping’ forum. Conducted across seven different high schools in greater Western Sydney, this leading study presents key findings and preferred strategies to address this pressing issue. More than 160 students, 130 school staff and 30 parents participated in the research, which employed an interactive, strengths-based approach, engaging students, staff, and parents to understand their perceptions and concerns regarding e-cigarette use among adolescents.

The key research findings by the team include: • There is no ‘one size fits all’: Schools request tailored education and engagement. • Education for young people needs to centre on effective learning approaches for tackling vaping. This means a focus on how and what young people learn, and the best ways to engage. • Prevention messaging needs to resonate with the children’s peer group. • A holistic approach to combat vaping needs to be embraced across the school, with supportive strategies, policies, and parent/staff education. • Focus on collaborative efforts between health and education for wellbeing-centred vaping prevention strategies. The participating schools will be involved in the next phase of the project– The Action Phase , which will include co-designing educational resources and workshops for students.

“If you were to sit us down and lecture us for an hour on the dangers of vaping, nothing would get through. This worked because we got involved and it was engaging.” –Student Feedback

“I felt like our choices mattered and our opinions mattered.” –Student Feedback

Western Sydney Diabetes: Changing Diabetes Initiative In December 2022, the Western Sydney Changing Diabetes initiative was launched in collaboration with the global healthcare company Novo Nordisk to improve diabetes awareness, detection, and prevention for the Western Sydney community. Since the launch, Western Sydney Diabetes (WSD) has partnered with Workers Lifestyle Group (Blacktown Workers) to conduct free diabetes detection programs every fortnight along with healthy cooking demonstrations once per month. As a result of these initiatives, Workers Lifestyle Group won the Club NSW and Community Awards.

Western Sydney Diabetes Leaders Alliance meeting held at Blacktown Workers on 19 June 2023.

Safety & Quality Account 2022-2023 Western Sydney Local Health District

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