Report by Hexagon Research and Consulting › media › 843003 › ... · Report by Hexagon Research and Consulting 2 Summary of Key Findings Section 3: Physical Activity Just over

Report

by

Hexagon Research and Consulting

For further information contact: Jim Patton Director Hexagon Research and Consulting

8 Roseneath Street, Edinburgh EH9 1JH

Tel: 0131 221 5212

e-mail: [email protected]

November 2006

Health and Well Being Survey

Report by Hexagon Research and Consulting 1

Contents

Page

Contents 1

Summary of Key Findings 2

Section 1: Introduction 6

Section 2: Background to the Survey 7

Section 3: Physical Activity 9

Section 4: Healthy Eating 16 Section 5: Smoking 17 Section 6: Alcohol 18 Section 7: Mental Health and Well Being 20 Section 8: Local Services 23 Section 9: Sexual Health 30 Section 10: Your Local Community 31 Section 11: Quality of Life 32 Section 12: Concluding Comments 33 Appendix 1: Health and Well Being questionnaire 34 Appendix 2: The West Dunbartonshire Citizens’ Panel 50



Summary of Key Findings

Section 3: Physical Activity

Just over half of all Panel members do not adhere to current guidelines for taking moderate physical

activity (i.e. that they should accumulate at least 30 minutes per day, five or more times in a typical

week). In fact, a third (33%) take moderate physical exercise on only 2 days a week or less, with this

rising to 45% of Panel members living in the regeneration areas

More than half of all Panel members (58%) stated that they never or rarely take part in vigorous

exercise or sport, with this proportion rising to 65% among Panel members living in the regeneration

areas. Conversely, only 13% said they took part in vigorous exercise or sport at least 3 times a week,

the recommended level of activity, with this falling to only 9 % of those living in the regeneration areas

Satisfaction with access to Council leisure facilities is high. Typically 90% of all Panel members are

satisfied with access to swimming pools, gyms and local parks, with this only falling to 73% for local

playing fields and 65% for other sports facilities such as tennis or squash courts

Equally important is that satisfaction with the quality of these leisure facilities is high, peaking at 86% for

the Council’s Cosmopolitan gyms and 79% for local parks, with satisfaction only falling to 64% for local

playing fields

Awareness of the free summer holiday swimming for young people is high, with almost two thirds of all

Panel members (63%) saying they had heard of this initiative. Conversely, awareness of the juvenile

gym membership packages is much lower, quoted by only 22% of Panel members

Panel member’s views are mixed on the quality of leisure activities for children and teenagers. For

example, while more the two thirds (69%) feel the quality of activities for children aged 12 or under are

“fairly good” or “very good”, almost a third (30%) feel they are “not very good” or “not good”. A slightly

more negative position emerged in relation to the quality of activities for teenagers, with 51% stating

they were “not very good” or “not good”



Just over 1 in 10 of all Panel members (12%) said they were aware of the activities in the leisure

centres for children and young people with a disability i.e. Shining Stars

More than two thirds (67%) stated that they would like to increase their physical activity. This interest is

consistently high across age ranges but peaks at 75% of those aged 25 to 29 and 70% for those aged

30 to 59. There are no significant differences by gender or by area

Just under half (49%) of Panel members said they are aware that all West Dunbartonshire schools

aimed to be health promoting schools

Section 4: Healthy Eating

Just over a quarter (26%) of all Panel members said that they eat five or more portions of fruit and

vegetables per day, with this falling to only 21% of Panel members is the regeneration areas.

Section 5: Smoking

Just over a quarter of Panel members (26%) currently smoke, with 18% stating that they smoke every

day. In the regeneration areas, more than a third of all Panel members (35%) currently smoke, with

23% smoking every day

Of those who currently smoke, the majority (68%) said they are aware of smoking cessation services

Section 6: Alcohol

Across West Dunbartonshire as a whole, 13% of men and 11% of women currently drink above safe

alcohol consumption levels. These estimates are higher in the regeneration areas, where 22% of men

and 21% of women drink above safe levels

Section 7: Mental Health and Well Being

More than three quarters of all Panel members (76%) said that they would describe their general

mental or emotional health well being as either “very happy” or “fairly happy”. This fell marginally to

69% in the regeneration areas

Overall awareness of the West Dunbartonshire Council Choose Life Campaign is relatively low, with

only 14% of all Panel members stating they were aware of the campaign



Section 8: Local Services

Overall levels of satisfaction with access to and the quality of local health services are high. Almost all

Panel members (99%) are satisfied with access to a local pharmacy and a similar proportion (97%) is

satisfied with the quality of services provided by local pharmacies. Very high satisfaction ratings were

also recorded for dental, GP and child care services

A high proportion of Panel members (83%) are currently registered with a dentist and over three

quarters of this group (77%) have had a dental check up in the last year

Panel members with caring responsibilities were asked about there awareness of support services.

Awareness is very high for residential respite (89%) and carers’ centres (79%). A fairly high proportion

(ranging from 45% to 60%) were aware of the carers’ support plan, respite at home and advocacy

services, but only 22% said they were aware of the “Out of the Blue” respite service

The majority of Panel members (65%) said they would contact Social Work Services if they were

concerned about a child, with a slightly lower proportion (56%) saying they would contact the Police

Almost three quarters (72%) of couples with children and 67% of lone parents said they had read the

leaflet, “What you can do to help if you are worried about a child or young person”

Satisfaction levels with the local neighbourhood are generally high, particularly in relation to the

following cemeteries (82%), parks (81%) and street lighting (81%)

Section 9: Sexual Health

More than two thirds of all Panel members (68%) said they knew where and how to access family

planning services, while 14% said they knew where to access information and counselling services in

relation to LGBT issues.

Section 10: Your Local Community

Just under 1 in 5 of all Panel members (18%) said they regularly attend local community or

representative groups, for example tenants’ associations or community councils.

Of those respondents who do regularly attend local community or representative groups, almost two

thirds (65%) said they are satisfied with opportunities for participation with only 11% dissatisfied.



Section 11: Quality of Life

The majority of Panel members agreed with positive statements about their overall quality of life, with

52% saying they were “mostly satisfied” and 8% that they were “delighted”.

Over a quarter (29%) said they had mixed views on their quality of life with a further 11% saying they

were either “mostly dissatisfied“ or they would describe their quality of life as “terrible”.

A significantly higher proportion of regeneration area respondents have a negative outlook on their

quality of life. For example, 21% described their quality of life as either “mostly dissatisfied” or “terrible”,

compared to only 6% in the rest of West Dunbartonshire.



1. Introduction This document presents the key findings to emerge from the third survey of members of the West

Dunbartonshire Citizens’ Panel.

The Citizens’ Panel Steering Group agreed that the survey would examine health and well being.

Questions would focus on nine main themes and a questionnaire was designed to reflect these key

information requirements of relevant partners within the West Dunbartonshire Partnership. A copy of

the questionnaire is attached at Appendix 1.

In our report, Section 2 presents the background to the assignment while Sections 3-11 provide an

analysis of residents’ views on each aspect of health and well being. Appendix 2 provides some

background details to the West Dunbartonshire Citizens’ Panel.



2. Background to the Survey 2.1 The West Dunbartonshire Citizens’ Panel The West Dunbartonshire Community Planning Partnership recognises that developing and delivering

services which meet local needs requires effective and genuine community engagement. Central to this

is the need to ensure that the views of the most disadvantaged communities are heard to help deliver

solutions that contribute to sustainable community regeneration.

An important part of the Partnership’s strategy for effective community consultation has been to

develop a Citizens’ Panel, building on a long standing Panel run by West Dunbartonshire Council. A

summary of the Panel recruitment process is contained in Appendix 2.

An analysis of the characteristics of Panel members indicated that it reflects many of the characteristics

of the West Dunbartonshire adult population. However, as the Panel was recruited through a process of

self selection, it was unlikely that its final composition would fully reflect the characteristics of the West

Dunbartonshire adult population as a whole.

We recommended that this was resolved through re-weighting the final sample achieved in any survey

exercise using the Panel. All findings presented in this report are therefore based on re-weighting

responses to make them reflect the age characteristics of Panel members in the regeneration areas

and in the rest of West Dunbartonshire.

2.2 Health and Well Being Survey Response A postal survey approach was adopted for the health and well being survey and questionnaires were

sent out to Panel members in September 2006. A final response of 806 returns was achieved (69%),

and the table below illustrates the high level of accuracy that can be attributed to the results derived

from this response overall, as well as for the two main sub areas.

Survey Response

West

Dunbartonshire

Regeneration

Areas

Remainder of West

Dunbartonshire

Sample

achieved

806 447 359

Sampling error ± 3.4% ± 4.6% ± 5.2%



As illustrated above, results for the Panel as whole have sampling errors limited to only ± 3.4%. This

means, for example, that if 50% of Panel members say they are satisfied with the Council, the real

figure will be in a narrow range, from only 46.6% to 53.4%.

The sampling errors for the regeneration areas and the rest of West Dunbartonshire rise marginally to

only ± 4.6% and ± 5.2% respectively.



3. Physical Activity This section explores a range of issues in relation to physical activity, including residents’ awareness of

a range of sports development projects, their participation in physical activity and their satisfaction with

the quality of and access to a range of sports and leisure facilities.

Awareness among Panel members of football and swimming sports development projects are both

relatively high (41% and 44% respectively). However, this falls to 20% for athletics projects and to only

7% for hockey. No significant variations in these awareness levels were found between the

regeneration areas and the rest of West Dunbartonshire.

A third of Panel members (33%) stated they participated in sport in West Dunbartonshire, with just over

half of this group (52%) saying that this occurred in a club environment.

Awareness of Sports Development Projects in West Dunbartonshire

Regeneration Areas Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Athletics 18% 22% 20%

Football 40% 42% 41%

Swimming 43% 44% 44%

Hockey 7% 7% 7%

Current guidelines for adults to take moderate physical activity suggest that they should accumulate at

least 30 minutes per day five or more times in a typical week. Moderate physical activity is defined as

the effort required for brisk walking and can include gardening, vigorous housework or cycling. It

doesn’t have to be 30 minutes all at once and short bursts of activity lasting about 10 minutes or more

can be added together.

As illustrated below, almost half of all Panel members (49%) stated they take moderate physical

exercise on most days of a typical week, with this proportion rising marginally to 51% of those living in

the rest of West Dunbartonshire. However, this indicates that just over half of all Panel members do

not adhere to current guidelines and in fact a third (33%) take moderate physical exercise on 2 days a

week or less (with this rising to 45% of Panel members living in the regeneration areas).



Taking Moderate Physical Exercise

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

On no days in a

typical week

18% 6% 9%

1 day in a typical

week

17% 8% 11%

2 days in a typical

week

10% 15% 13%

3 days in a typical

week

10% 21% 18%

On most days of a

typical week

45% 51% 49%

In addition to establishing the levels of participation in moderate physical exercise, the survey provided

an opportunity to assess how many Panel members take part in vigorous exercise or sport which lasts

at least 20 minutes or more. More than half of all Panel members (58%) stated that they never or rarely

take part in vigorous exercise or sport, with this proportion rising to 65% among Panel members living

in the regeneration areas. Conversely, only 13% said they took part in vigorous exercise or sport at

least 3 times a week, the recommended level of activity, with this falling to only 9 % of those living in

the regeneration areas.

Taking Part in Vigorous Physical Exercise or Sport

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Never or rarely 65% 54% 58%

Less than once a

week

18% 10% 12%

Once a week 5% 11% 9%

Twice a week 3% 10% 8%

At least three times

a week

9% 15% 13%



Panel members were asked about their use of and attitudes to a range of leisure facilities across West

Dunbartonshire including:

• West Dunbartonshire Council public swimming pools

• West Dunbartonshire Council gyms

• Other West Dunbartonshire Council sports facilities, for example badminton courts, tennis

courts and squash courts

• Local playing fields

• Local parks

Local parks emerged having the highest level of usage among this range of leisure facilities, quoted by

49% of Panel members throughout West Dunbartonshire. The Council’s swimming pools emerged as a

facility used by the next largest proportion of Panel members (31%), while usage of the remaining

facilities was focused on relatively small groups across West Dunbartonshire.

Use of Council Leisure Facilities

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

WDC public

swimming pools

30% 31% 31%

WDC Cosmopolitan

gyms

8% 14% 12%

Other WDC sports

facilities e.g. tennis

or squash courts

5% 5% 5%

Local playing fields 6% 7% 6%

Local parks 49% 49% 49%

Among those able to express an opinion about these leisure facilities, satisfaction with both access and

quality is high. For example, typically 90% of all Panel members are satisfied with access to swimming

pools, gyms and local parks, with this only falling to 73% for local playing fields and 65% for other

sports facilities such as tennis or squash courts.



Equally important is that satisfaction with the quality of these leisure facilities is high, peaking at 86% for

the Council’s Cosmopolitan gyms and 79% for local parks, with satisfaction only falling to 64% for local

playing fields. No major differences between Panel members in the regeneration areas and the rest of

West Dunbartonshire were found.

Satisfaction with Access to Leisure Facilities

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

WDC public

swimming pools

88% 90% 90%

WDC Cosmopolitan

gyms

87% 89% 88%

Other WDC sports


or squash courts

63% 66% 65%



Satisfaction with Quality of Leisure Facilities

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

WDC public

swimming pools

73% 76% 75%

WDC Cosmopolitan

gyms

85% 86% 86%

Other WDC sports


or squash courts

60% 65% 63%





The health and well being questionnaire advised Panel members that the Council had had been

developing a number of activities for children and young people to encourage them to increase their

physical activity. Panel members were then asked if they were aware of two initiatives targeted at

young people:

• Free summer holiday swimming

• Juvenile gym membership packages

Awareness of the free summer holiday swimming for young people is high, with almost two thirds of all

Panel members (63%) saying they had heard of this initiative. Conversely, awareness of the juvenile

gym membership packages is much lower, quoted by only 22% of Panel members.

Of those aware of the free summer holiday swimming initiative, the majority (63%) had heard it through

the local press, with a third (33%) also saying that they were made aware of the initiative through word

of mouth and 28% through leaflets and posters placed in leisure centres. A similar profile emerges for

those who have heard of the juvenile gym membership packages, with 60% made aware of them

through local press and 39% as a result of posters and leaflets placed in leisure centres.

Panel members where asked for their views on the quality of activities in Council leisure centres for

children aged 12 and under and for teenagers. As illustrated below, Panel member’s views are mixed

on the quality of these activities. For example, while more the two thirds (69%) feel the quality of

activities for children aged 12 or under are “fairly good” or “very good”, almost a third (30%) feel they

are “not very good” or “not good”. A slightly more negative position emerged in relation to the quality of

activities for teenagers, with 51% stating they were “not very good” or “not good”.

Activities for Children aged 12 and under in the WDC Leisure Centres

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Very good 10% 12% 12%

Fairly good 55% 58% 57%

Not very good 25% 22% 23%

Not good 10% 8% 8%



Activities for Teenagers in WDC Leisure Centres

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Very good 9% 10% 9%

Fairly good 39% 40% 40%

Not very good 35% 32% 32%

Not good 17% 18% 19%

Just over 1 in 10 of all Panel members (12%) said they were aware of the activities in the leisure

centres for children and young people with a disability i.e. Shining Stars. Yet again, awareness has

been generated primarily though advertisements and articles in the local press (42%), with 36% also

mentioning leaflets and posters placed in leisure centres. Attitudes to the quality of these activities are

very positive, with 87% of those who expressed an opinion saying that they were “very good” or “fairly

good”.

It has already been illustrated that a significant proportion of Panel members do not meet

recommended guidelines on taking moderate or vigorous physical activity. However, it is significant that

more than two thirds (67%) stated that they would like to increase their physical activity. This interest is

consistently high across age ranges but peaks at 75% of those aged 25 to 29 and 70% for those aged

30 to 59. There are no significant differences by gender or by area.

While just over half of all Panel member (53%) feel there are enough sporting activities for their age

group, 47% feel there are inadequate opportunities, with this view peaking at 63% for those aged 25 to

29 and is also slightly higher among male respondents (50%).

More than half of Panel members (59%) have also stated that they would be interested in a guided walk

service if this was available, and which appeals equally to both genders and across most of the age

categories of Panel members.



Attitudes to Physical Activity

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Like to increase

physical activity

65% 68% 67%

Enough sporting

activities for your

age group

53% 54% 53%

Interested in Walks

Service

56% 60% 59%

Aware of health

initiatives in

schools

50% 49% 49%

Finally, the survey was used to assess Panel members’ awareness that all West Dunbartonshire

schools aimed to be health promoting schools. The table above indicates that just under half (49%)

said they are aware of this health initiative, and is slightly higher amongst Panel members with children.



4. Healthy Eating Current guidance is that adults should eat five or more portions of fruit and vegetables each day (this

can include salad but not potatoes, and also include fruit and vegetable that are fresh, frozen, dried or

tinned).

Just over a quarter (26%) of all Panel members said that they eat five or more portions of fruit and

vegetables per day, with this falling to only 21% of Panel members is the regeneration areas.

Conversely, over a third of Panel members (37%) stated that they eat fewer than 3 portions a day, with

this rising to over half (51%) of Panel member in the regeneration areas.

Portions of fruit and vegetables eaten each day

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

5 or more portions

a day

21% 28% 26%

3 - 4 portions a day 25% 40% 36%

1 – 2 portions a day 39% 30% 32%

None 12% 2% 5%

Don’t know 4% 1% 2%



5. Smoking Just over a quarter of Panel members (26%) currently smoke, with 18% stating that they smoke every

day. In the regeneration areas, more than a third of all Panel members (35%) currently smoke, with

23% smoking every day. Of those who currently smoke, the majority (68%) said they are aware of

smoking cessation services.

Smoking

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

I have never tried or

only tried once or twice

40% 48% 45%

I gave up smoking but

started again

4% 4% 4%

I have given up

smoking

26% 32% 30%

I smoke some days 8% 2% 4%

I smoke everyday 23% 15% 18%



6. Alcohol Just under 1 in 5 of all Panel members (19%) said they do not drink alcohol, a proportion that is

consistent within the regeneration areas as well as across the rest of West Dunbartonshire. However,

the proportion of Panel members from the regeneration areas drinking alcohol on more than 2 days per

week is higher than for the rest of West Dunbartonshire. For example, 23% of those from the

regeneration areas say they drink alcohol on 3 to 5 days per week compared to only 15% in the rest of

West Dunbartonshire. In addition, 16% drink alcohol on 6 to 7 days per week in comparison to only 6%

in the rest of West Dunbartonshire.

Drinking Alcohol

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Never 21% 19% 19%

Less than once a

month

11% 19% 16%

More than once a

month, but not weekly

5% 17% 14%

1 – 2 days per week 25% 25% 25%

3 – 5 days per week 23% 15% 17%

6 -7 days per week 16% 6% 9%

Panel members who drink alcohol were asked to estimate how many units they drank in the last week

(they were advised that one unit of alcohol was equal to a small glass of wine, half a pint of normal

strength lager or a pub measure of any spirit).

Current guidance states that the safe drinking level for men is 21 units per week and 15 units per week

for women. Across West Dunbartonshire as a whole, 13% of men and 11% of women currently drink

above these levels. These estimates are higher in the regeneration areas, where 22% of men and 21%

of women drink above safe alcohol consumption levels.



Alcohol consumption

Regeneration

Areas

Male Female

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

Male Female

West

Dunbartonshire

Male Female

Less than 15 units 43% 80% 75% 88% 67% 85%

15 – 21 units 34% 5% 15% 5% 20% 4%

22 – 35 units 16% 9% 7% 5% 9% 6%

36 – 50 units 5% 6% 3% 2% 4% 4%

More than 50 units 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 1%



7. Mental Health and Well Being This section assesses Panel members’ perceptions of their general mental or emotional well being, as

well as their awareness of the West Dunbartonshire Choose Life Suicide Prevention Campaign and

their overall attitudes to mental health problems.

More than three quarters of all Panel members (76%) said that they would describe their general

mental or emotional health well being as either “very happy” or “fairly happy”. This fell marginally to

69% in the regeneration areas.

Mental or emotional well being

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Very happy 28% 29% 29%

Fairly happy 41% 50% 47%

Neither happy nor

unhappy

9% 13% 12%

Fairly unhappy 13% 7% 9%

Very unhappy 9% 2% 4%

These perceptions are strongly supported by Panel members’ perceptions of how stressed they feel

they are. For example, just under two thirds (65%) said they do not feel stressed at all or only a little

stressed. Only 12% described their condition as “very stressed”, although this rises to 18% among

residents within the regeneration areas.



In the last week how stressed would you say you were?

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Not stressed at all 24% 23% 23%

A little stressed 34% 46% 42%

Quite stressed 20% 19% 19%

Very stressed 18% 10% 12%


Overall, more than a third of all Panel members (38%) said they were aware that their GP can refer

them to physical activity programmes although, this level of awareness did not vary significantly in

terms of Panel member’s current perception of their general mental and emotional well being.

Overall awareness of the West Dunbartonshire Council Choose Life Campaign is relatively low, with

only 14% of all Panel members stating they were aware of the campaign. Yet again, there are no

significant differences in awareness of the campaign by Panel member’s perceptions of their current

emotional or mental well being. Of those who are aware of the campaign, the majority (76%) said they

had heard of it through the local press.

Finally, Panel members were asked to indicate if they agreed or disagreed with two statements about

mental health problems. As illustrated below, just over a third (35%) said that if they were suffering from

mental health problems they wouldn’t want people knowing about it (with this proportion rising

marginally to 39% among Panel members in the regeneration areas). Conversely, only 11% said they

would find it hard to talk to someone in the community who had a mental health problem.



Attitudes to Mental Health

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

If I was suffering from mental health

problems I wouldn’t want people

knowing about it

39% 34% 35%

I would find it hard to talk to

someone in the community who had

a mental health problem

13% 10% 11%



8. Local Services Overall levels of satisfaction with access to and the quality of local health services are high. For

example, almost all Panel members (99%) are satisfied with access to a local pharmacy and a similar

proportion (97%) is satisfied with the quality of services provided by local pharmacies. Very high

satisfaction ratings were also recorded for dental, GP and child care services. Only relatively minor

differences in satisfaction levels were recorded between the regeneration areas and the rest of West

Dunbartonshire.

Satisfied with access to services

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Chiropody 70% 62% 64%

Physiotherapy 69% 68% 68%

Hearing aid clinics 75% 81% 79%

Dental services 86% 86% 86%

GP services 85% 84% 84%

Hospital Out

Patient

75% 75% 75%

Pharmacy 99% 98% 99%

Childcare 75% 77% 76%

Health Promotion

76% 77% 76%



Satisfied with the quality of services

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Chiropody 80% 75% 76%

Physiotherapy 77% 80% 79%

Hearing aid clinics 72% 80% 77%

Dental services 92% 92% 92%

GP services 91% 89% 89%

Hospital Out

Patient

82% 78% 79%

Pharmacy 96% 97% 97%

Childcare 82% 89% 85%

Health Promotion

81% 81% 81%

A high proportion of Panel members (83%) are currently registered with a dentist and over three

quarters of this group (77%) have had a dental check up in the last year.

Registered with a dentist

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Yes 82% 83% 83%

No 19% 17% 17%



When did you last have a dental check up?

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

In the last year 76% 77% 77%

In the last 2 years 6% 7% 7%

Longer than 2

years ago

14% 13% 13%


Just under 1 in 5 of all Panel members (17%) said they have caring responsibilities on a day to day

basis for someone who has additional caring needs, for example a child with a disability or and elderly

person. This sub sample of Panel member were asked about there awareness of support services for

carers, and as illustrated below, awareness is very high for residential respite (89%) and carers’ centres

(79%). A fairly high proportion (ranging from 45% to 60%) were aware of the carers’ support plan,

respite at home and advocacy services, but only 22% said they were aware of the “Out of the Blue”

respite service.

Caring Responsibilities

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Yes 18% 17% 17%

No 82% 83% 83%



Aware of support services for carers

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Carers’ Support

Plan

55% 62% 60%

Carers’ Centers 73% 82% 79%

Residential Respite 75% 96% 89%

Respite at home 57% 60% 59%

‘Out of the Blue’

respite service

20% 23% 22%

Advocacy services 39% 48% 45%

Panel members were asked a series of questions in relation to child protection issues and initially were

asked to indicate that, if they had concerns about a child, which of a series of organisations or

individuals they would contact. The majority of Panel members (65%) said they would contact Social

Work Services if they were concerned about a child, with a slightly lower proportion (56%) saying they

would contact the Police. Schools would be contacted by a quarter of respondents, with less than a

quarter saying they would contact a GP, health visitor or a nursery.



If you had concerns about a child would you contact any of the following?

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Social Work

Services

66% 65% 65%

Police 54% 57% 56%

Nursery 12% 13% 12%

School 24% 25% 25%

GP 19% 18% 18%

Health Visitor 18% 16% 16%

Other 5% 5% 5%

Panel members indicated that they had seen information on child protection from four main sources,

including:

• National TV/radio/newspaper (44%)

• Health centres (33%)

• Local TV/radio/newspaper (25%)

• Libraries (17%)

Typically fewer than 10% had also seen child protection information from other sources including

schools, nurseries and leisure centres.



Seen Child Protection information in any of the following?

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Social Work

Department

10% 9% 9%

Health Centre 30% 34% 33%

Nursery 4% 4% 4%

School 10% 10% 10%

National

TV/Radio/Newspaper

43% 45% 44%

Local

TV/Radio/Newspaper

25% 25% 25%

Library 15% 18% 17%

Leisure Centre 4% 6% 5%

Other 7% 7% 7%

Panel members with children at school or nursery were advised that they had received a leaflet “What

you can do to help if you are worried about a child or young person” in their school bag and were

asked if they had read this leaflet. Almost three quarters (72%) of couples with children said they had

read the leaflet, with a similar proportion of lone parents (67%) also saying they had read the leaflet.

No significant variations between the regeneration areas and the rest of West Dunbartonshire were

recorded.

Finally, respondents were asked to indicate how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with a series of

aspects of their local neighbourhood. As illustrated in the table below, satisfaction levels are generally

high, particularly in relation to the following:-

Cemeteries (82%)

Parks (81%)

Street lighting (81%)

Public buildings for example schools, housing and offices (72%)



Most of the other aspects of the local neighbourhood recorded satisfaction levels of 40% - 60%, with

the lowest level overall recorded for roads (40%) and pavements (40%).

The widest variation in attitudes between the regeneration areas and the rest of West Dunbartonshire

was in relation to satisfaction with public buildings, where there was a 7% lower satisfaction rating

within the regeneration areas.

Satisfaction with your neighborhood

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Overall physical

appearance of the

local area

62% 59% 60%

Open spaces 60% 57% 58%

Play areas 45% 41% 42%

Gardens, closes and

back courts

57% 58% 58%

Public buildings e.g.

schools, housing

offices

66% 73% 72%

Parks 81% 81% 81%

Cemeteries 85% 80% 82%

Roads 42% 39% 40%

Pavements 40% 40% 40%

Street lighting 80% 82% 81%



9. Sexual Health Questions on sexual health in the survey focused on whether Panel members knew where and how to

access family planning services as well as information and counselling services in relation to LGBT

issues.

As illustrated below, more than two thirds of all Panel members (68%) said they knew where and how

to access family planning services, while 14% said they knew where to access information and

counselling services in relation to LGBT issues.

Sexual Health

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Know where and how to

access Family Planning

Services

67% 69% 68%

Know where to access

information and counseling

services in relation to LGBT

(Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and

Transgender) issues

13% 14% 14%



10. Your Local Community Just under 1 in 5 of all Panel members (18%) said they regularly attend local community or

representative groups, for example tenants’ associations or community councils. Respondents were

also asked if they were satisfied with the opportunity to get involved in community activities, and while

only 26% stated they were satisfied, the level of dissatisfaction is even lower, at only 8% (67% of

respondents said they were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied or did not want to get involved).

Perhaps more significantly, of those respondents who do regularly attend local community or

representative groups, almost two thirds (65%) said they are satisfied with opportunities for participation

with only 11% dissatisfied.

Regularly attend any local community/representative groups


Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire

19% 17% 18%

Satisfied with the opportunity to get involved in community activities


Dunbartonshire

West Dunbartonshire

24% 27% 26%



11. Quality of Life To complete the survey, Panel members were asked to indicate which of a series of statements came

closest to describing how they feel about there overall quality of life at the moment. As illustrated below,

the majority of Panel members agreed with positive statements about their overall quality of life, with

52% saying they were “mostly satisfied” and 8% that they were “delighted”.

Over a quarter (29%) said they had mixed views on their quality of life with a further 11% saying they

were either “mostly dissatisfied“ or they would describe their quality of life as “terrible”.

Attitudes to overall quality of life

Regeneration

Areas

Rest of West

Dunbartonshire

West

Dunbartonshire

Delighted 9% 7% 8%

Mostly satisfied 42% 57% 52%

Mixed 27% 30% 29%

Mostly dissatisfied 14% 4% 7%

Terrible 7% 2% 4%


The most significant variation to emerge between the regeneration areas and the rest of West

Dunbartonshire was in relation to a significantly higher proportion of regeneration area respondents

having a negative outlook on their quality of life. For example, 21% described their quality of life as

either “mostly dissatisfied” or “terrible”, compared to only 6% in the rest of West Dunbartonshire.



12. Concluding Comments The West Dunbartonshire Health and Well Being Survey has confirmed a high level of satisfaction with

a range of services and facilities which impact on health. In particular, satisfaction is high for the quality

of local health services, most aspects of the Council’s leisure facilities and the local neighbourhood.

Overall, the majority of Panel members agreed with positive statements about their quality of life, with

52% saying they were “mostly satisfied” and 8% that they were “delighted”. However, over a quarter

(29%) said they had mixed views, with a further 11% saying they were either “mostly dissatisfied“ or

they would describe their quality of life as “terrible”.

In addition, a significantly higher proportion of regeneration area respondents have a negative outlook

on their quality of life. For example, 21% described this as either “mostly dissatisfied” or “terrible”,

compared to only 6% in the rest of West Dunbartonshire.

Perhaps the most far reaching finding from the study is that the health behaviour of a significant

proportion of Panel members falls short of current guidelines. In particular, more than half do not meet

current targets on exercise and three quarters do not conform to guidelines on healthy eating. Over a

quarter smoke, and in the regeneration areas, more than one in five drink above safe alcohol

consumption levels.

However, there is evidence to indicate that the majority of Panel members want to improve their health

and fitness. More than two thirds (67%) stated that they would like to increase their physical activity and

more than half (59%) have also stated that they would be interested in a guided walk service if this was

available. Significantly, however, almost half (47%) also feel there are inadequate sports and leisure

opportunities and there was some criticism in relation to leisure facilities and activities for children and

teenagers.



Appendix 1 Health and Well Being Questionnaire

































Appendix 2 West Dunbartonshire Citizens’ Panel



The West Dunbartonshire Citizens’ Panel was recruited with the following aims:

• To be representative of local residents and willing to be surveyed on a regular basis about the

policies and services of the community planning partners

• To recruit approximately 500 Panel members from the regeneration areas and a further 500 across

the rest of West Dunbartonshire

• To allow these views to be fed into the decision-making processes of the community planning

partners

• To keep Panel members informed of the actions taken by community planning partners in response

to the views expressed

The Panel recruitment exercise produced 1,185 members, with 542 in the regeneration areas and 639

across the rest of West Dunbartonshire. An analysis of the characteristics of Panel members indicated

that, overall, the West Dunbartonshire Citizens’ Panel:

• Reflects many of the characteristics of the West Dunbartonshire adult population

• All community plan themes are regarded to be of significant interest to most Panel members

• Almost 500 Panel members would be interested in being engaged further in discussion groups.

However, as the Panel was recruited through a process of self selection, it was unlikely that its final

composition would fully reflect the characteristics of the West Dunbartonshire adult population as a

whole. The Panel was also designed to have a disproportionate number of members from

Regeneration areas to allow robust reporting of results for these areas.

The main implication of this is that it will be important to re-weight the findings from any survey which

uses the Panel. We recommended that this was done to correct the imbalance by geographical area

(Regeneration areas versus the rest of West Dunbartonshire) and by the age of the respondent, and all

findings presented in this report are based on this re-weighting process.

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