Information every step of the way
- 2.6 million people are living with heart disease in the UK.
- The BHF Heart Information Series booklets now number 22.
- This year the BHF responded to over 66,000 requests for publications.
Information every step of the way
The British Heart Foundation produces a wide range of materials explaining different heart conditions and treatments, and offering advice on how patients, families and friends can help their hearts with a healthier diet and lifestyle.
Heart Information Series
Action
In 2005/06, we added two new publications to our award-winning and highly successful Heart Information Series – Returning to Work with a Heart Condition and Diabetes and Your Heart. We also produced two audio versions of this series, Lifestyle and Rehabilitation, which are available on cassette and CD, to give heart patients greater choice of how they access our information.
An independent qualitative review of the Heart Information Series was completed in December 2005.
Impact
According to the evaluation, the booklets are “regarded by health professionals in the acute sector as the ’backbone’ of heart patient information” and have been very well received – 85% of patients and their carers rated them as good or very good.
“Because nobody in the family has ever had it before, we didn’t know all these things. These booklets are great – very, very informative. You can understand what it’s all about.”
Carer, Bournemouth
Next steps
Although the Heart Information Series has proved a great success with many heart patients, raising awareness of the series among health professionals will be a prime concern in 2006/07.
In response to evaluation recommendations the booklets will be redesigned. The first title to be launched in the new-look series, Angina, will be in circulation by August 2006.
Patient-Held Diary
Action
2005 saw the independent evaluation and development of the Patient-Held Diary, which was tested as part of the rehabilitation programme at Addenbrooke’s and other hospitals in Cambridgeshire. The diary encourages patients to become more involved in their own care and treatment by recording blood pressure and cholesterol readings, keeping track of symptoms and medication, and tackling risk factors such as smoking. It also helps patients to increase understanding of their condition by providing information about heart disease, with details of relevant websites and local contacts.
Impact
Patient-Held Diary is proving to be a success for many patients. In an independent evaluation survey, among those who carried on using the diary for eight months, 62% felt that it should be introduced nationally to benefit other patients, and 65% rated it useful or very useful.
Next steps
Patient-Held Diary was launched nationally in January 2006. Throughout 2006/07 the BHF aims to raise awareness of the diary among health professionals through articles in journals and attendance at the British Cardiology Society Conference.
Patient-Held Diary is now called Patient-Held Record.
Road to Recovery pack
Action
A new cardiac rehabilitation programme funded by the Big Lottery Fund – Road to Recovery – began a three-year pilot in August 2005. The Road to Recovery pack is a home-based exercise and education programme, which is especially useful for patients who are housebound, lack confidence or do not wish to join an outside class. The pack includes an interactive diary, exercise DVDs or videos, and a relaxation CD or tape. It is designed to help heart patients improve their fitness levels and provides easy-to-understand information. The pack helps with patients’ worries and concerns and establishes a monitoring system between them, their families and their cardiac rehabilitation team.
Impact
Although only in its early stages, Road to Recovery has been well received. One patient told us: “After my bypass operation, the exercise programme helped me to become more mobile and active. It gave me confidence to do more walking and take more exercise. It helped me gauge how much to do and how much stress to give my heart.”
Next steps
In 2006/07 Road to Recovery will undergo a qualitative and quantitative impact evaluation by the University of York. We hope to make it more widely available in 2008.
Heart disease can affect anyone. Our resources inform and support today’s heart patients, but we need your help to make sure we can continue our work as long as heart disease remains a major cause of premature death and disability.