Community conversations on women’s health: a toolkit for local interventions

Gendered health inequalities remain a pressing issue globally, where challenges accessing services and supportive information on women’s health is compounded by prevailing feelings of stigma and embarrassment that many experience around areas such as menstruation, menopause and sexual health. In Scotland, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) has been working in collaboration with the Scottish Government in support of the Women’s Health Plan to address these issues. Working within the voluntary sector, the ALLIANCE’s programme ensures lived experience is embedded in the Plan’s implementation; supports health information promotion through a programme of popular national events; and encourages a positive culture on women’s health on both an individual and societal level. The ALLIANCE has produced a Conversation Café toolkit for women’s health to provide resources and guidance to community organisations and groups of lived experience to spark inclusive dialogue on women’s health at a local level and empower individuals to understand and advocate for their health. https://www.alliance-scotland.org.uk/blog/news/conversation-cafe-toolkit-for-promoting-positive-discussion-on-womens-health/ This workshop will take you through the toolkit and explore how it facilitates discussion of women’s health in an informal, respectful and supportive environment. We will share ways the toolkit is being used to enable communities and lived experience to consider, direct and facilitate informed conversations on women’s health that is driven by their own priorities and needs. We will share ways that we are working with partners and our women’s health lived experience network to develop, promote and implement the toolkit. We will explain how we have produced this resource to build a community of practice that cedes power to local organisers and promotes self management, whilst also providing clear health content that can be used to promote a better understanding of women’s health across the life course. Purpose: To share learning and insights on our Conversation Café toolkit and facilitating community dialogue on women’s health, and generate discussion on good practice examples from other participants. The session is for practitioners working in community spaces. Session Plan (90 mins) •Welcome, introduction and icebreaker (10mins) •Presentation on the Conversation Café toolkit case study: its purpose, what it includes, examples of toolkit in use by communities (20 mins) •Reflections and questions on presentation (15 mins) •Small group discussions (30 mins) draft questions: -What gender health gaps are most pressing within the communities you work with? -What examples of good practice are you aware of that address these at a local level? -How can we ensure community interventions are resourced and supported to ensure lasting and meaningful approaches? •Feedback to main group – rapporteur from each group, captured on flipchart paper/post its (10 mins) •Close and summary of learning by host (5 mins)