Sláinte - here's to good health

The Sláinte Pobal programme offers health training courses in many areas of Dublin and Wicklow

OFFERING PEOPLE in disadvantaged communities opportunities to learn how they can reduce stress and improve their health is at the heart of an innovative holistic health programme called Sláinte Pobal.

Set up almost 20 years ago, the programme offers training courses on health and wellbeing at community centres in lower socio-economic areas throughout Dublin and Wicklow.

Each course includes classes on stress management, relaxation, nutrition, exercise as well as introductions to shiatsu, aromatherapy and other complementary therapies.

Shiatsu practitioner and trainer Shirley McClure explains the origins of the courses: "A group of complementary therapists, some of whom were also involved in the community sector, got together. We were very interested in looking at preventative ways in which people could look after themselves and their families and we were aware that ill health was more prominent in areas with lower employment.

"We found that there was a lot of demand for us to give talks on healthy eating, stress management and relaxation skills so we decided to teach people to offer these skills themselves," she explains.

The aim was that the complementary therapists would train community sector leaders to run courses themselves.

Ann Smith, manager of the Corduff Community and Resource Centre in Dublin 15, completed one of the original Sláinte Pobal courses, Taking Control of Your Lifeand subsequently managed later Promoting Positive Lifestylecourses in Corduff Community and Resource Centre.

"What I noticed most about the group who did the Promoting Positive Lifestylecourse is how it raised their awareness of health and made us all look at the broader determinants of health which are housing, education, work. In Corduff, this awareness developed into a research project looking at how we can improve the health of the community," she explains.

Philly Walsh was one of the participants on the course. "One of the benefits of the course for me was that I became more adventurous about trying out different foods, such as hummus and couscous. I also learned how to manage stress better. I used to think that I was laid-back - I don't drink or smoke - but I realised that I wasn't, and I had to face up to that and find out where it was coming from," she says.

Adrienne O'Shea, community employment supervisor at the Corduff Community and Resource Centre, was another participant. "What I learned most from the course was how the body works and copes with different ailments. I did my project on the digestive system, the liver and the bowel," she explains.

O'Shea also says that the course taught her how to manage her stress levels better. "I look after myself better now. I suffer from migraine and now I am more aware of the signs of stress and my personal triggers so that I can handle things better. For instance, I've learned how to do deep breathing techniques at night-time if I need to," she says.

Ann Smith says that seeing people move from being shy at the start of the course to being confident at the end was another advantage.

"They were able to stand up and make presentations about their projects so it worked on different levels," she explains. In Corduff, the Sláinte Pobal course was funded by the HSE Women's Health division and Combat Poverty.

"Another spin-off for me personally was that my daughter did the course and now she's teaching yoga classes," says Smith. The participants ranged in age from those in their early 20s to women in their 60s.

Another spin-off was the aforementioned research project. "We formed the Corduff Health Action Group and produced a Health Action Plan for the area," explains Smith.

The Health Action Plan noted huge barriers to accessing health services in the area. These include waiting lists, cost and limited general practitioner opening hours. Issues such as crime, anti-social behaviour, illegal dumping and personal ill health were factors that negatively affected people's health.

"Our research led to Corduff and Mulhuddart being one of the areas where the primary care teams were rolled out first, but we are still waiting for a health centre to be built in the area," explains Smith.

McClure adds that while promoting healthy lifestyles is central to Sláinte Pobal's focus, different issues arise in each community. "For instance, when we worked in Ballyfermot, we were working mainly with parents of drug users who had a different set of problems to deal with," she explains.

"The course is held over 36 weeks, which includes one evening a week and two residential weekends. The residential weekends really give people a chance to interact and become a support for each other."

McClure says that the personal benefits have remained the most significant over the years. Sláinte Pobal's original aim to train community leaders to become teachers of the courses themselves has, however, been less successful.

"Next year, we are hoping to get more community leaders on to the course, so that we can reach out into more community centres throughout Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare," she says.

• An introductory talk on Sláinte Pobal's Promoting Positive Lifestyles courses will be held in the Sanctuary, Stanhope St, Dublin 7 on Friday at 1pm. Admission free but booking essential. Tel: 01 244 6647. See also www.slaintepobal.ie for more details