Foreword
ExecutiveSummary
TheFutureNHSPatient-Access,TrustandFirstContact PreventioninRealLife-WhatHelpsYoungAdultsStayWell DigitalHealthandtheNHSExperience-WhatYoungAdultsExpect HealthInequalitiesandYoungAdults–DesigningServicesAround YoungAdults
0.Foreword
Whatparticularlystruckmethroughoutthisreportis thatyoungpeoplearenotdisengagedfromtheir health Quitetheopposite Theyarecurious, informedandproactive Theywanttounderstand theirhealth,theyembracenewtechnologiesand theyvaluetheexpertiseofhealthcareprofessionals. Yettheyarealsonavigatingfinancialpressures, mentalhealthchallenges,digitaloverloadand wideninginequalitiesthatinevitablyshapethe choicestheyareabletomake
Thefindingsreinforcesomethingwehavelong understood:preventioncannotsimplybeabout encouraginghealthierchoices Itmustalsobe aboutcreatingtheconditionsthatmakethose choicesrealistic Whetherthatmeansdesigning servicesthatareeasiertonavigate,embracing digitalinnovationwhilemaintaininghuman connection,orworkingwithuniversities,employers andcommunitiestotacklethewiderdeterminants ofhealth,improvingoutcomeswillrequire partnershipacrosseverypartofsociety
Perhapsmostencouragingofallisthattrustinthe NHSremainsremarkablystrong Thattrustisoneof thehealthservice'sgreatestassets.Protectingit meanscontinuingtodesignservicesaroundthe needsandexperiencesofpatients,ensuringthat innovationstrengthens,ratherthanreplaces,the compassionandprofessionalismthatdefineour NHS
Ihopethisreportencouragesleadersacrossthe NHS,government,highereducationandbeyondto thinkdifferentlyabouthowweengageyoungadults inshapinghealthcare Theirperspectivesarenot simplyinteresting theyareessential Bylistening today,wehaveanopportunitytocreateahealth servicethatismoreresponsive,moreinclusiveand betterpreparedforthechallengesoftomorrow.
Iwouldliketothankeverystudentwhocontributed soopenlytothisprogramme Yourexperiences, ideasandhonestyhavecreatedanimportant pieceofwork,andIhopetheconversationsit beginswillcontinuelongafterthesepages
1.ExecutiveSummary
PurposeLabHealth’spilotprogramme thereforefocusesonfourthemesthatwillplay asignificantroleinshapingfutureNHS demand:
Accesstohealthcareandfirstcontactwith NHSservices
Preventionandmaintaininghealthin everydaylife
Digitalhealthandexpectationsofonline healthcare
Healthinequalitiesandthewiderfactors thatinfluencehealthoutcomes
Together,thesethemesprovideapictureof howyoungadultsusehealthcaretodayand ofhowtheyarelikelytoengagewith healthcarethroughouttheirlives
Theprogrammebroughttogetherstudents frommorethantwentyuniversitiesand collegesacrossEngland,creatinganational panelrepresentingawiderangeof educationalinstitutions,communitiesand livedexperiences
Participantsincludedstudentsfromlowerincomebackgrounds,diverseethnic communitiesandregionswithdifferinghealth challenges,allowingperspectivesthatare oftenlessvisiblewithinconventional engagementtocomethrough
Acrossthecourseoftheprogramme,four structureddiscussionsessionswereheld, eachfocusingononeofthecorethemes Eachsessioncombinedfacilitateddiscussion withwiderstudentsurveys,allowinginitial themestobetestedacrossabroader participantgroupbeforebeingbrought togetherwithinthisreporttoprovidearich pictureofhowthenextgenerationofNHS patientsexperienceshealth,wellbeingand healthcaretoday.
Whilethediscussionsexploreddifferent aspectsofhealthcare,acommonthread emergedthroughouttheprogramme
Youngadultsarehighlyengagedin maintainingwellbeingandnavigatingan increasinglycomplexhealthcarelandscape, buttheyaredoingsoinwaysthatdiffer significantlyfrompreviousgenerations
Forexample,digitaltechnologieshave becomeembeddedwithineverydayhealth behaviourandexpectationsofaccessibility andcommunicationhavebeentransformed byexperiencesoutsidehealthcare
ForNHSorganisations,thesechangespresent bothachallengeandanopportunity The challengeliesinensuringthatservices continuetomeettheneedsofpatients whoseexpectationsareevolvingrapidly
Theopportunityisthat,byunderstanding thesebehaviours,theNHScandesign servicesthatstrengthentrustandimprove accessbeforetoday'syoungadultsbecome long-termpatients
Thisreportbringstogetherthefindingsfrom thepilotPurposeLabHealthprogramme It exploreswhatyoungadultstoldusabout howtheyaccesshealthcare,whathelps themstaywell,howtheyexperiencedigital healthservicesandhowwiderinequalities shapetheirinteractionswiththeNHS
Moreimportantly,itconsiderswhatthese insightstellusaboutthefutureNHSpatient andhowhealthservicescancontinueto evolveinresponse
2. SessionOne:TheFutureNHS Patient-Access,TrustandFirst Contact
Formanypeople,thehealthcarejourneyno longerbeginswhentheyspeaktoadoctoror contacttheNHS Increasingly,itbeginsmuch earlier,throughonlinesearches,conversations withfamilyandfriends,digitalhealthtoolsand artificialintelligence Beforemakingan appointmentorcontactingNHSservices,many youngadultshavealreadybeguninterpreting theirsymptomsanddecidingwhetherformal healthcareisnecessary
TheNHSisincreasinglyinteractingwithpatients whohavealreadyformedinitialviewsabout theirhealthand,inmanycases,decidedhow serioustheybelievetheirsymptomstobe Understandingthesebehavioursisbecoming essentialifhealthcareservicesaretoengage patientsearlierandreducedelaysinaccessing appropriatecare
ThefirstPurposeLabHealthsessionexplored whereyoungadultsturnfirstwhentheyhavea healthconcern,howtheyusedigitalsourcesof informationandwhatshapestheirtrustinboth onlineinformationandNHSservices The discussionsoughttounderstandthelived experienceofnavigatinghealthcareasa youngadult.
Thediscussionbroughttogetherstudentsfrom:
BirminghamCityUniversity
CardinalNewmanCollege
LiverpoolHopeUniversity
LiverpoolJohnMooresUniversity
SheffieldHallamUniversity
SouthamptonSolentUniversity
TeessideUniversity
UniversityofChester UniversityofGreenwich
UniversityofSouthampton UniversityofWorcester
Perhapsthemostnotablefindingwasthat studentsrarelyrelieduponasinglesourceof information.Instead,manydescribedaprocess ofcomparinginformationacrossseveral websitesandcheckingwhetheradvicewas consistent Ratherthanacceptingthefirst explanationtheyencountered,participantsoften soughtreassurancebyconfirmingthatmultiple trustedsourcesreachedsimilarconclusions
Onesurveyrespondentcapturedthisparticularly well:
"Itrustinformationmorewhenitexplainswhy, notjustwhat,especiallyifitacknowledges uncertaintyratherthanpretendingtohaveall theanswers.”
Thisreflectsalevelofdigitalliteracythatis sometimesoverlooked Thediscussionsuggested thatyoungadultsareconstantlyevaluating informationfromdifferentsources
Concernsaboutmisinformationwerenot directedsolelytowardsemergingtechnologies suchasAI
Participantsspokeequallyaboutmisleading socialmediacontent,exaggeratedheadlines andevenwell-meaningadvicesharedthrough familyandfriendshipnetworks.
Trustwasthereforeshapedlessbytheplatform itselfthanbythequalityoftheinformationit contained
discussionwasthatparticipantscontinuedto expressconsiderableconfidenceintheNHSitself.
Contrarytoassumptionsthatyoungergenerations placegreatertrustinonlinecommunitiesthan establishedinstitutions,studentsconsistently describedNHSinformationasthemostreliable sourceavailable.TheNHSwebsitewasfrequently mentionedasatrustedreferencepoint, particularlybecauseitoftenappearsprominently withinsearchengineresults.PharmaciesandNHS 111werealsoviewedpositively,whilemany participantsvaluedtheincreasingavailabilityof onlineappointmentbooking,prescriptionservices andelementsoftheNHSApp.
3. SessionTwo:PreventioninRealLife-WhatHelpsYoungAdultsStayWell
Traditionalpreventionstrategiesoftenencourage behaviourchangebypromotinghealthierchoices. Participants,however,suggestedthatthegreatest challengeismaintaininghealthychoiceswhen dailylifebecomesincreasinglydemanding.
2.Thepressuresfacingyoungadultsdonotexist inisolation
Throughoutthediscussion,participantsrarely spokeaboutindividualpressuresinisolation. Instead,theydescribedhowdifferentaspectsof lifereinforceoneanother,creatingperiodswhere multiplechallengesbecomedifficulttomanage simultaneously.
AswiththefirstPurposeLabHealthsession,social mediaemergedasaninfluentialbutcomplexpart ofyoungadults'relationshipwithhealth
Participantsacknowledgedthatsocialmedia platformshavebecomeroutinesourcesof informationaboutwellbeing,nutrition,exercise andmentalhealth Manydescribeddiscovering recipes,fitnessideas,breathingexercises,study techniquesandpracticalwellbeingadvicethrough socialmedia,oftenpresentedbypeopleofa similaragewhoseexperiencesfeltrelatable
Forsome,thisaccessibilitywasviewedpositively Informationdeliveredthroughshortvideosand personalstoriesoftenfelteasiertounderstand thanmoreformalsources,whileseeingpeers discusstheirownexperiencescouldhelp normaliseconversationsaboutmentalhealthand wellbeing
andemploymentfrequentlyoverlap,making joined-upsupportmorevaluablethan isolatedinterventionsdeliveredthrough differentservices
Thediscussionalsohighlightedthe importanceofrelationships Participants consistentlyplacedgreatervalueonsupport thatfeltpersonalandcontinuous Whether withinuniversitiesorworkplaces,they describedtheimportanceoftrusted individualswhocouldrecognisewhen someonemightbestrugglingandencourage earlierconversationsaboutwellbeing
ForNHSorganisations,thesefindingsreinforce theimportanceofpartnershipworking Preventionisunlikelytosucceedthrough healthcareservicesactingalone
4 SessionThree:DigitalHealthandtheNHSExperience-WhatYoungAdults Expect
emergefromthediscussionconcernedthe differencebetweentrustandusability.
ParticipantsconsistentlyregardedNHS informationassignificantlymorereliablethan informationencounteredthroughsocial mediaorsearchengines.However,theyalso acknowledgedthattrustedinformationisnot alwaystheeasiestinformationtoaccessor understand.
StudentsfrequentlycomparedNHSwebsites withthedigitalplatformstheyuseeveryday. Whilesocialmediawasrecognisedasless reliable,itwasalsodescribedasfasterand easiertoengagewith.Participantsvalued contentthatcouldbeunderstoodquickly withoutrequiringextensivereading
Bycontrast,NHSwebsitesweresometimes describedastext-heavyoroverlytechnical, particularlywhenindividualswerealready feelinganxiousabouttheirhealth
Thishighlightsthechangingexpectationsof digitalcommunication Youngadults increasinglyexpectinformationtobeconcise anddesignedaroundtheneedsofuserswho maybeaccessinghealthcareinformation underpressure
toappearelsewhere,requiringpatientsto repeatthesamedetailsmultipletimes Others reflectedoninconsistenciesbetweenGP services,hospitalrecordsanddigitalplatforms, creatinganimpressionthatdifferentpartsof theNHSoperateindependentlyratherthanas ajoined-upsystem
Thisfragmentationwasparticularlyfrustrating becauseparticipantsexpecteddigital technologytoremoveduplicationratherthan createit Inmanyotheraspectsoflife,digital platformsallowinformationtomove seamlesslybetweenservices Youngadults increasinglyexpecthealthcaretooperateina similarlyintegratedway
Communicationformedpartofthiswider discussion Participantspreferredclear,concise notificationsexplainingexactlywhatactionwas requiredratherthangenericmessagesor lengthyinformationupdates
Theunderlyingmessagewasconsistent throughoutthesession Digitalhealthcare shouldfeelconnected
5 SessionFour:HealthInequalitiesandYoungAdults–DesigningServicesAround YoungAdults
levelsofperformance,ensuringthatthey remaininclusiveforpeoplewithdifferentlevels ofconfidenceandphysicalfitness
Thediscussionpointstowardsabroaderlesson forpreventionpolicy Awarenesscampaigns remainimportant,buttheirgreatestimpact maycomewhentheyhelppeopledevelop realisticroutines
2 Healthychoicesareshapedbyeveryday circumstances
Asthediscussiondeveloped,participants repeatedlyreturnedtotheenvironmentswithin whichhealthdecisionsaremade
Timeemergedasoneofthemostsignificant barrierstomaintaininghealthyroutines
Studentsbalancinguniversitystudywith employmentorcaringresponsibilitiesdescribed howhealthyintentionswerefrequently displacedbycompetingdemands
discussionsconsistentlyreturnedtotwo themes:mentalwellbeingandsocial connection
Manystudentsdescribedphysicalactivity primarilyasawayofmanagingstressand improvingmoodduringdemandingperiods Exercisewasvaluedbecauseithelpedpeople feelcalmerandbetterabletocopewith pressure Forseveralparticipants,themental healthbenefitsofexerciseweremore immediateandmoremeaningfulthanlongtermphysicalhealthoutcomes
Therewasstrongsupportforcampaignsthat celebratedsmallimprovementsandconsistent habitsratherthanperfection Several participantssuggestedthatmessagessuchas "smallchangesfityourstudentlifestyle"would resonatemorestronglythancampaignsasking peopletocompletelytransformtheir behaviour
Studentsalsobelievedcampaignsshould appearnaturallywithintheenvironmentsthey alreadyoccupy
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