Health Campus explores effect of neighbourhood approach for healthy Hague generation
image: Robin Utrecht
A generation is growing up in The Hague Southwest with little room for manoeuvre. Researchers from Health Campus The Hague are following what the BRUIS neighbourhood approach does and means for children and young people in the neighbourhood.
Ten-year programme started with first community meeting
The launch of the BRUIS initiative marked the beginning of a decade of working for a healthier generation in The Hague Southwest. The approach focuses on playing, meeting and living together in a developing neighbourhood. Researchers from Health Campus The Hague – part of the LUMC and Leiden University’s Campus The Hague – use a learning interdisciplinary approach to evaluate and monitor the programme.
About Health Campus The Hague
At the LUMC and Leiden University’s Health Campus The Hague, we aim to improve life expectancy and quality of life through interdisciplinary research and teaching. We work with partners on solutions for patient-centred, affordable and accessible care, actively seeking new connections between healthcare and the social domain without losing sight of the perspectives of residents, professionals, organisations and systems.
Mobile greenery and temporary play and meeting areas
The large-scale urban innovation in Southwest means that around 22,000 children are growing up in an environment with few green or meeting spaces. The new neighbourhood approach aims to change this by working with residents and civil society organisations to create temporary play and meeting areas: pop-ups with mobile greenery, seating areas and playground equipment. Local initiatives under the slogan of Samen (together) encourage encounters and exercise, with the local community taking the lead.
BRUIS was symbolically launched at Cruyff Court at ADO football club in The Hague on 14 April. More than 200 residents discussed the first locations. The initiative has received EUR 13m from the National Postcode Lottery’s Dream Fund.
Research in the community, together with residents
Researchers from Health Campus The Hague have been closely involved in the evaluation of the programme from the start. Unlike traditional studies, this is not done remotely but in the middle of the neighbourhood. Researchers participate in activities, speak to residents and develop knowledge together with the community.
‘We are following the opportunities and threats in the development of this new neighbourhood approach, and are studying what it means in the long term for the lives of residents’, says Professor Jet Bussemaker, chair of Happy and Healthy The Hague (Gezond en Gelukkig Den Haag; GGDH). ‘This is in collaboration with professionals and local residents, and on the strength of different academic disciplines. We are building on the network and insights developed in recent years within GGDH and the Health Campus.’
Project leader and assistant professor Nienke Slagboom stress the importance of this method. ‘Academia and the neighbourhood join forces in our learning approach. We develop insights together that are not only valuable to Southwest but also applicable to other neighbourhoods where health and quality of life are under pressure.’
From local change to national example
The aim is that this approach not only makes a local difference but also serves as inspiration for other urban areas in the Netherlands. Professor Jessica Kiefte, scientific director of Health Campus, explains, ‘BRUIS is for the health and well-being of children in The Hague Southwest – a district where inequality has a profound impact on the opportunities of a new generation. What we learn here can help make a healthier, more resilient generation in The Hague and beyond.’
Broad collaboration for long-term impact
The neighbourhood approach is a collaboration between residents, health funds and public and private partners. Those involved include Lung Foundation Netherlands, MIND, Jantje Beton, the Municipality of The Hague, housing associations, Haaglanden Public Health Service (GGD), Heijmans and the National Programme for The Hague Southwest. A special BRUIS project team works in the neighbourhood on the implementation of the project.