HEED Association is a non-governmental and non-profit making association founded in 2018. The association has three goals, which are to promote health, education, and integration of African immigrants and refugees in Finland. We aim to educate, equip, and empower African immigrants and refugees to be able to make informed decisions concerning their health, career choices, and to ensure proper integration into Finnish society. Our vision is to improve the quality of life for all African immigrants and refugees in Finland through effective health promotion interventions, guidance on education, and integration.
CHRODA 2020 is the first-ever Chronic Disease Awareness month organized in Finland. According to WHO, Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) also referred to as lifestyle diseases kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 71% of all deaths globally. Four of the most prominent NCDs are cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, and Type two diabetes. These 4 groups of diseases account for over 80% of all premature NCD deaths and are linked by common and preventable biological factors, which are high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and overweight. Behavior risk factors common with all these diseases are unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and tobacco use. Prevention, early detection, screening, and treatment are key components of the response to NCDs.
HEED health check event
Based on the above statistics, the importance of the CHRODA project cannot be overemphasized. CHRODA project was aimed at promoting the health of immigrants in Finland, by raising awareness on the prevalence and prevention of chronic diseases, so that immigrants will be able to improve their health through a healthier lifestyle. Participants would also learn about available health services and use them.
The project was designed by HEED Association Finland and implemented in collaboration with Laurea University of Applied Sciences (UAS), Monaliiku, Helmet Library, Culhealth, and Premium Hoiva Palvelu. Nursing students from Laurea UAS were actively involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the project. With the assertion that “Knowledge is power”, different methods of delivering information and interventions were used to achieve the objectives of the project including free health checks, leaflets, health bulletins, sporting activities, and health seminars.
Health checks were organized in Sello and Oodi libraries during which immigrants and Finns alike participated to check their health status. Health checks performed included (BMI & Body composition tests, Blood pressure, Hemoglobin, Cholesterol, Blood glucose, Lung capacity test using a PEAK flow meter). Guidance on chronic disease prevention including the importance of D-vitamin and calcium, nutrition, and physical activity were also provided to participants in different languages.
A sporting event, Sports4Health was organized in Espoo in collaboration with Monaliiku and Laurea University of Applied Sciences. Activities during this event included a football competition that was played by a mixed team of men and women, open field Zumba dance, 40km/long-distance cycling, and some kids’ activities. Participants had some health checks such as Blood pressure and lung capacity test.
HEED novelty match
As part of the implementation, an online seminar was organized that brought together public and third sector representatives, grassroots organization representatives, nutrition experts, sports coaches, and a nursing student representative. The seminar was life streamed on FACEBOOK to reach as many people as possible.
Feedback was collected via questionnaires, a feedback tree, orally, and Facebook comments. The feedbacks highlighted the importance of such a project and the positive impact on social cohesion and community mobilization amongst the immigrant population. One of the main goals of HEED is to encourage immigrants to be involved in community building through participation and responsibility. It’s also worth mentioning that through this project, many participants became aware of the health problems that they were otherwise ignorant of such as high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity/overweight which if unchecked long-term can cause serious health complications. The health, wellbeing, social inclusion, and participation of immigrants in Finland is the mission of HEED which can be achieved through community mobilization and collaboration with other associations and groups. 2021 is here with new challenges and opportunities, and HEED is looking forward to more fruitful projects with enthusiasm and positivity hoping that the immigrant community will be more engaged. A healthy community is a vibrant community!
HEED Finland
Due to the covid-19 Pandemic, some of the activities were slightly adjusted and some cancelled. To prevent the spread of the infection, strict hygiene protocol was observed during all events. The concept of healthy living was exemplified by the provision of free healthy snacks to the participants during all events.
A big thank you to Moniheli ry for supporting this project and all the other collaborators including Laurea UAS nursing students. There is strength in collaboration, and together we are stronger.
