A NHS teen helpline in Kent is the most contacted in the country, thanks to the power of Snapchat.
Many health trusts run ChatHealth lines for teens, with each region having its own number, but the Kent one has the highest number of hits, due to using the popular platform to promote the service.
Kent School Health went into secondary schools to ask pupils what would be the best way of encouraging them to talk about their health. Older teens said that as they spend a lot of time on their phones, texts and short videos on social media were the way forward.
The Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust team took inspiration from a national campaign which used Snapchat. The team made two videos for the social media channel, which included links to the helpline and saw a surge in the average number of monthly users. Which went from just eight a month to more than 100.
With the social media landscape continually changing the team will be working with more young people and schools in 2025, to see if Snapchat continues to be the best channel to use. Colleagues are also planning to replace their 45-50-second videos with several of just five seconds long, following feedback that these would be more appealing.
The innovative approach was led by Transformation Manager and Specialist Community Public Health Nurse Jean Ravenna and Public Health Campaigns Manager Beverley Hunt.
Jean said: “We identified that we needed to increase our reach to older teens, so held focus groups in schools to ask what would have most impact. Pupils told us they didn’t like the terms ‘school health’ or ‘school nurses’, as they felt this was too formal and worried that what they said to us might get back to their parents or teachers. They told us they trusted the NHS and so we used the term NHS nurses in our videos.
“They felt animations were too babyish and they wanted to see the faces of the nurses they would be texting, so we had nurses talking directly to camera about the issues they could help with.
“We listened and adapted the way we were doing things. Using social media has proved far more effective than putting posters up in schools or on the back of toilet doors.”
A confidential helpline
ChatHealth is a confidential health advice text messaging service used by health trusts up and down the country, who each have their own specific lines. It is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Kent School Health has had a ChatHealth line since February 2021. The team first tried using Snapchat in February 2023.
Jean said: “We get a lot of calls after school and in the school holidays. We have found that this way of working has also reached those who are not in mainstream school, who might be at pupil referral units or home schooled.
“Most calls are about emotional health, with young people feeling low or anxious, or worried about relationship issues with friends or family. We get a lot of embarrassing bodies type questions and a lot about sexual health, which young people might not ask, if they had to see someone face-to-face. If we are unable to help, we let the young person know the best organisation to contact so they can get the support they need.”
The rise in conversations has led to the identification of more high-risk cases, including young people struggling with suicidal thoughts, self-harm, and severe anxiety. The Kent School Health team has implemented measures to manage these cases, working closely with KCHFT’s Children and Young People’s Counselling Service and using a risk register to track concerns.
Budget
With a modest budget of £10 a day, the team targeted 15-19-year-olds in Kent. The videos demonstrate how the messaging service works and encourage viewers to text for help. The campaign quickly demonstrated its effectiveness, with more than 21,000 swipe-ups on the ads in the first six months. Between February and July 2023, the campaign had 3.4 million impressions.
Continually adapting
Jean said: “We know that Snapchat won’t be the right platform forever. We’ll see if our new videos make a difference to numbers. They will be just five seconds long, with a young person urging teens to get in touch.
“We get some lovely feedback from the young people we talk to via text, which is very rewarding.”
One 14-year-old caller, who was depressed, said: “I just want to thank you. You’ve help me get through one of the toughest times of my life.”
Beverley added: “Nine out of 10 young people are on Snapchat, using it to connect with friends and family and share their experiences. By creating awareness of the Kent School Health service on Snapchat, young people can understand what the service is and how they can get confidential help and advice from NHS nurses via their ChatHealth messaging service.
“Text uses young people’s language and allows access to information or discussion about their health problems without face-to-face contact. Under 25-year-olds are more likely to communicate by text message or by use of social media sites such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram and Snapchat than by a telephone call. By using mechanisms such as text messaging services, nurses can share information more rapidly.”
Using quality improvement
A quality improvement (QI) approach was used to help identify the issues and to make changes. It was Jean’s first QI project, but she is keen to do another.
She said: “It was daunting at first, but our QI team were really supportive. They were good at teasing out information which was needed.
“I’m not usually a data kind of person, but I found myself really invested in this and each month I couldn’t wait to see the report from ChatHealth which said how many young people we had helped.”
Find out more on the Kent ChatHealth line for young people on the A3 project on a page.
