MECC Resources
There is a whole raft of resources available to Make Every Contact Count, please find below the MECC Community of Improvement's pick of some of the key ones available.
The DHSC Campaign Resource Centre
The Campaign Resource Centre is the digital platform for government health improvement campaigns and resources, for you to use in your work to improve health outcomes in your area.
You'll find print resources, such as posters and leaflets, plus a variety of digital and social media assets and content. All are free to download or order.
Under the 'Better Health' brand you will find tools and resources that support people to:
Quit Smoking
To encourage smokers to make a quit attempt and provide tools and advice built around sound behaviour change theory to support them on their quitting journey.
Support Tools, Websites, Apps you could recommend:
Better Health quit smoking website which includes information about the benefits of quitting, advice on various quitting aids and a local stop smoking service lookup tool
NHS Quit Smoking App - a 28-day programme that provides practical support, encouragement, and tailored clinical advice on your mobile/tablet. Includes a savings calculator so you can see how much money you're saving.
To find out more you could watch our app demo which provides a step by step view of how to get started
Personal Quit Plan – four simple steps to create your own personal quit plan
Promote the benefits of Physical Activity
To help build more physical activity into their daily routines for their physical and mental wellbeing
What you could recommend:
Get active - Better Health - NHS (www.nhs.uk) - website includes access to free online exercise routines you can do at home and offers from approved partners
Active 10 walking app - track your walking habits to increase the number of brisk minutes, which is when the health benefits will be greatest. No Lycra required, and there are lots of benefits of getting out into local green spaces like parks for your mental health too. Available from the App Store and Google Play
Couch to 5k app - easy to follow, flexible programme to get you running 5k in as little as 9 weeks, or longer if you want. Listen to your preferred music player as you run, between motivational messages from your chosen celebrity “coach”. Track your achievements and collect awards as you progress. Available from the App Store and Google Play
Campaign Resource Centre page: Better Health Adult Obesity
Resources include:
Posters promoting couch to 5k and Active 10 apps encouraging people to get active. Also includes partnership with Amazon's Alexa enabled devices. Key messages include Physical Health messaging, Mental Health messaging and app specific messaging.
Eat well and achieve a healthy weight
To help people achieve a healthier weight
What you could recommend:
Lose weight - Better Health - NHS (www.nhs.uk) – information and advice, and links to offers from approved partners
NHS Weight Loss Plan app, a 12-week programme following NHS advice on losing weight safely. Available from the App Store and Google Play. To find out more you could watch our app demo
Healthy Steps email programme:
Healthy Steps is a budget-conscious email programme designed to encourage families to take steps to improve their health and wellbeing. It provides regular reinforcement and feedback to help families set and achieve goals. Particular focus on lower income families with children aged 5-11.
The programme invites families/parents/carers to complete a quiz, leading to a recommendation of the best NHS approved health options for your family. There are currently three on offer: sugar reduction, 5 A Day or planned cooking. Those who sign up will get eight weekly emails with hints and tips on their chosen theme, as well as weekly challenges. Built-in feedback loops means that they will also be provided reinforcement and encouragement after set-backs to help them in their journey through Healthy Steps.
Campaign Resource Centre page: Better Health Adult Obesity
Resources include: weight loss app demo; posters; social media toolkit
Promote Mental Wellbeing
To help people to take action to protect and improve their mental health
Support Tools, Websites, Apps you could recommend
Better Health Every Mind Matters website. NHS-assured information & advice on common mental wellbeing concerns: anxiety, stress, low mood & poor sleep
Tips to manage mental wellbeing based on Mind’s ‘5 ways to wellbeing’.
Plus self-help CBT techniques section Life’s challenges - practical tips on dealing with drivers of poor mental health eg coping with money worries and job uncertainty, maintaining healthy relationships and loneliness
The Mind Plan – free, personalised plan. Answer 5 quick questions on how you’ve been feeling over the last 2 weeks and you’ll get recommendations on practical self-care actions that could help. You can customise the plan and get it emailed to you
Free email support programmes – complete the Mind Plan to sign up for regular emails with further tips on building wellbeing actions into everyday life, or go to the “anxiety” page to sign up for a tailored email programme with expert advice and practical tips to help deal with anxiety
Search online for 'Every Mind Matters'
Public website: Every Mind Matters - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Population Wellbeing Portal
The Portal offers free access to education, training and professional development resources, to help deliver improvements in public health and prevention. Providing a central location for numerous e-learning resources, reading material, guidance, toolkits and videos, factsheets and many more resources relating to population health.
The All Our Health Programme
The All Our Health elearning sessions have been developed to provide a bite-sized introduction to the wide range of topics covered within the All Our Health framework. Within these sessions, you’ll find signposting to trusted sources of helpful evidence, guidance and support. You can dip in and out of the content as and when you need it.
Currently, there are 33 All Our Health elearning sessions available covering a wide variety of public health topics.
PHE - Menu of preventative interventions
Public Health England (PHE) has worked with partners to identify preventative actions that can improve people’s health, support quality improvement and potentially save the NHS and the wider system money. This menu details interventions that are estimated to give a return on investment (ROI) and can demonstrate cost-savings to the health and care system over a 5 year period.
Health Education England - Making Every Contact Count Website
This website has been updated to support the development, evaluation and implementation of MECC programmes in local communities by providing a library of national and local resources.
Everyday Interactions: measuring the public health impact of healthcare professionals
Everyday Interactions focuses on the public health impact of four of the key healthcare professions within the wider workforce: nurses and midwives, dentists, allied health professionals and pharmacists (although it is hoped that it will have wider appeal) and aims to support these healthcare professionals as they record and measure their public health impact.
How NICE resources can support local priorities
This resource pulls together everything from NICE (guidelines, quality standards and tools and resources to support implementation)
Web: https://stpsupport.nice.org.uk/mecc/index.html
Health Literacy Toolkit
Public Health England, NHS England and Community Health and Learning Foundation, we have invested in an innovative project to develop, test and implement a range of strategic and practical interventions towards improving health literacy.
A Health Literacy toolkit was developed as part of this project. It contains a suite of resources that will be helpful in raising awareness of health literacy and upskilling the health, care and wider public health workforce.
MECC Tutor-led Training and Blended Learning
Training on MECC usually involves a package of blended learning that includes underpinning knowledge via e-learning and tutor-led led learning for the skills based motivational behaviour change conversations.
MECC e-learning
The MECC e-learning programme is designed to support learners in developing an understanding of public health and the factors that impact on a person’s health and wellbeing. It focuses on how asking questions and listening effectively to people is a vital role for us all.
A MECC interaction takes a matter of minutes and is not intended to add to existing busy workloads, rather it is structured to fit into and complement existing engagement approaches.
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/making-every-contact-count/