HIIC stories - sparking change through community action
What is HIIC?
Health Issues in the Community (HIIC) is a course that helps people understand what affects their health and the health of their communities.
It's run by tutors all across Scotland to support people to learn, but also take action on the issues important to them in an empowering and participative way.
The SCQF-rated course draws on the social model of health which views health and illness as having as much to do with economic and social factors as with individual behaviour.
With community development at its core, the course promotes the values of equality and non-discrimination, and the idea that everyone should be able to have a say in decision-making processes that affect them.
Sparking community action
For 25 years we’ve seen how HIIC provides people with the skills and resources they need to make amazing things happen in their communities - whether that's addressing the impact of poverty or empowering young people to deliver on their priorities.
Delivered by experienced tutors, the course helps to build people's knowledge, skills and confidence so they can apply their learning to their own lives and the lives of their communities.
Below you can look at some examples of HIIC in action!
HIIC stories
C2C have been on a peer-support journey over the last few years, and the group continues to go from strength to strength - recently producing two brilliant films which detail the group’s work in developing their digital skills.
In this short interview, Kate McHendry spoke to Elspeth Gracey, a former HIIC tutor, about her experiences with the course and how it can make a huge difference to people’s lives.
C2C worked alongside the Primary Care Health Inequalities Short Life Working Group (SLWG), which was set up by the Scottish Government to make recommendations on how primary care can address health inequalities.
Dundee has a long history of supporting community-led health and next year will be the 20th anniversary of the Community Health Team
As HIIC celebrates it 25 years anniversary, we brought together some of the women who pioneered the course in its early days, to explore where it came from and the impact it had.
As a society that believes in compassion and justice, these writings from HIIC students act as a call to action to address inequalities and the increasing number of people being swept up in the wake of crushing poverty.
Jane Jones, author of the Health Issues in the Community course and community activist has written a new article which explores the role of tackling health inequalities using popular education.
Using their experiences, the women delivered a group presentation on an issue close to their hearts: self-harm and suicide. The play, ‘She Died Waiting’, depicts the story of a young woman who self-harms.
When the pandemic struck, how could HIIC be delivered online - and how do we retain the participative, engaging discussion that's so important? This HIIC pioneered the first fully online HIIC course.
HIIC helped to spark community action with this BAFTA short-listed, youth-led documentary exploring the impact of poverty in local communities.
What if local organisations used their Secret Santa money to help young people experiencing hygiene poverty?