Background to re:fresh
The “killer facts”
Blackburn with Darwen has some of the worst health statistics in the country. These were the main driver for the Council, together with NHS Blackburn with Darwen and other partners to come together and launch a major health and wellbeing programme to tackle some of these problems.
The initial phase of the programme was to raise awareness of the population’s poor health, explore what needed to be done and how agencies and communities could work together to make a difference.
An awareness raising marketing campaign was carried out locally to promote three of the worst health statistics which became known as the “killer facts”:
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People die on average eight years earlier in Blackburn with Darwen than in other parts of the country – 74.3 years for males and 78.4 years for females.
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Over 24,000 people drank levels of alcohol likely to harm their health.
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Blackburn with Darwen has the third worst level of physical activity among adults in the country.
A clear strategy
The Local Strategic Partnership used the "killer facts" to develop a Health and Wellbeing Strategy focussed on making a difference, reducing health inequalities and improving the general health of our citizens by focusing on key priority areas:
In response to the "killer Facts" campaign, a strong, established partnership between the Council and the NHS has provided a firm foundation on which to build, develop and invest in new local approaches to tackling our health inequalities, including the exciting re:fresh initiative.
