Addressing inequalities in health: breast benefits project

It is well known that people from low socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to breastfeed than others, thus potentially increasing health inequalities. Breast Benefits is a project working in secondary schools, reaching a target audience of young men and women aged 13–15 years living in areas of relative socioeconomic deprivation. This article gives a detailed description of the research process undertaken in order to develop a user-friendly education pack for use with young people aged 13–15 years. The project team included young people, educationalists, researchers, midwives and community workers. The findings from the pilot sessions show that young people were responsive to classroom sessions about breasts and breastfeeding, finding them interesting and informative. A key outcome of this work is an educational pack designed to assist teachers to stimulate cultural change by tackling the subject of both breasts and breastfeeding with young people. This research suggests that the devised teaching session will be effective in most state secondary schools, all of which will have a diverse student body.