I have been lucky enough to work closely with Greenwich University (UofG) over the last 3 years, firstly as a Student Specialist Community Public Health Nurse (SCPHN) and then later as a qualified SCPHN and now as a manager in my organisation (The Kent School Health Team, KCHFT) .
Following the completion of my dissertation as a student in 2020, I was supported by Greenwich University’s Institute of Life Course Development to publish my systematic review in the Journal of School Nursing in 2021 in collaboration with Marianne Markowsi (Research Fellow at UofG) and Karen Cleaver (Head of the School of Health Sciences at UofG) https://journals.sagepub.com/d...
This article recently became the second most widely read article in the Journal of School Nursing in 2023 and was selected by the Editor to represent The Journal of School Nursing in the 2023 INANE Virtual Journal.
The main findings of this systematic review were that LGBTQ young people can feel left out in the sex education classroom therefore turn to online resources to understand their relationships and the mechanics of sex leaving them open to sometimes inappropriate materials.
In order to build on the findings of this research and to continue our excellent partnership working, Karen, Marianne and I have been working together as a group alongside fellow Greenwich University colleagues; Professor Clare Monks (Deputy Head of School of Human Sciences) and Dr David Hockham (Chair of the Universities LGBT staff Community) as well as a local Metro Youth Hub Lead; (Adam Tipping) and a local artist (Paul Green) to create a collaboratively designed health promotion poster. This inspiring and empowering poster (see attached) was designed by a group of LGBTQ young people and features the powerful message to "Have the Courage to Exist." The finished poster will contain a QR code taking the user to the Kent Youth Health Website which will contain useful information and signposting to other safe resources / organisations locally.
KCHFT are now in the process of beginning to review and produce this poster for dissemination to schools, youth hubs and children’s centres in order to reach as many young people across Kent as possible.
As a group we have utilised the expertise of each contributor to support young people to create their own health promotion poster which will educate and inform thousands of young people to make healthy and safe choices in their relationships, create the steps for successful behaviour change and better health outcomes for our young population.
