Changemaker: Promoting co-designed sustainable health interventions with young changemakers for reduced risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in urban Burkina Faso, Kenya and Tanzania

Objective

The goal is to create and test a health program focused on improving health, nutrition, and environmental outcomes to prevent obesity and related diseases in adolescents. The project will take place in three fast-growing cities in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Tanzania, with adolescents actively involved.

Background

Adolescent obesity is on the rise, which can lead to adult obesity and other serious health problems like diabetes and high blood pressure. In rapidly growing urban areas in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), it's important to address the lifestyle factors that contribute to obesity, such as unhealthy diets, lack of physical activity, and too much screen time. While influencing health behaviors is a key approach to preventing obesity, it is a complex process, and obesity itself is a multifaceted issue. It is influenced by many factors, including policies, the environment, culture, and biology. To effectively prevent obesity in these areas, we need a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach that involves health, education, environment, and agriculture, as well as a broad range of stakeholders, including adolescents, parents, schools, local governments, and community organizations.

Strategy

The project will use four evidence-informed strategies that will be adapted to the local context through a collaborative design process:

1. Urban farming in schools, including satellite farms and composting,
2. Health education for classrooms,
3. Health talks with healthcare workers using motivational techniques,
4. Mass media campaigns following WHO recommendations.

Evaluation

The program will be tested in schools using three randomized controlled trials (RCTs) within urban health monitoring systems, along with evaluations of how the program was implemented and how cost-effective it is.

Role of Tampere University

TAU is leading Work Package 4, which focuses on developing implementation strategies for the multicomponent Changemaker intervention across different countries. Additionally, TAU participates in planning and conducting theory-based workshops to co-design and contextualize these interventions and strategies. TAU also supports implementation and contributes to the development of evaluation tools and data analysis.