1 / 23

Taking action the Health Awareness Clinic project

Taking action the Health Awareness Clinic project. Primary Health Care Department Rebecca Cachia Fearne Practice Nurse Mariella Bombagi Practice Nurse Dorothy Scicluna Senior Staff Nurse. Essential elements for action.

stuart
Download Presentation

Taking action the Health Awareness Clinic project

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Taking action the Health Awareness Clinic project Primary Health Care Department Rebecca CachiaFearne Practice Nurse MariellaBombagi Practice Nurse Dorothy Scicluna Senior Staff Nurse

  2. Essential elements for action • Support a paradigm shift towards integrated, preventive health care • Promote financing systems and policies that support prevention in health care • Make prevention an element of every health care interaction (World Health Organisation, 2002)

  3. Preventive care • the NCD Alliance calls for strengthening of health systems, particularly primary health care. (De Maesaneer et. al, 2011) • People should be empowered to promote their own health, interact effectively with health services andbe active partners in managing disease. (WorldHealthOrganisation, 2006) • It requires the empowerment of patients, a reduction of barriers to healthy lifestyles, and care that reflects the values of the individual patient. (De Maesaneer , 2011)

  4. Health Awareness Clinics • January 2010 Mtarfa health awareness clinic piloted • July 2014, clinic re-branded as Lifestyle Clinic and launched in San Ġwann locality (town with a population of 12,649)

  5. Population of circa 2,500 • Clinic located in town centre • Few steps away from local council, shopping area, police station, parish church Locality of Mtarfa

  6. Aim of the Service To introduce a proactive, integrated and personalised approach towards healthier living

  7. Objectives • Identify risk factors which are conducive toill-health • Identify existing and undiagnosed health issues • Provides the opportunity for health promotion and disease prevention intervention/s • Provides access to an integrated multidisciplinary primary health team for better continuity of care

  8. Ilek ma’ titkellem ma’ nurse/tabib fuq saħħtek? • Tixtieq tkun taf aktar dwar saħħtek u kif tista tħossok aħjar? Ħu kontroll ta saħħtek INTI Agħmel l-ewwel pass ILLUM Ċempel fuq 21454382/21454328 u agħmelappuntament. Saħħtek F’idejk!

  9. Ilek ma titkellem ma’ nurse/tabib fuq saħħtek? • Tixtieq tkun taf aktar dwar saħħtek u kif tista’jħossok aħjar? Ħu kontroll ta’ saħħtek INTI Agħmel l-ewwel pass ILLUM Ċempel fuq 21454382/21454328 u agħmel appuntament Saħħtek. F’idejk.

  10. Core Values of the Service • The assurance of confidentiality • Respect for the client as an individual • Emphasizing holism • Emphasizing the message that the client is to adopt an active role towards maintaining his/her health or taking certain measures to address health issues • The nurse must obtain written consent from the client before proceeding with the interview • The client may withdraw his/her consent during any part of the interview

  11. Possible Referrals (determined by health assessment) • Follow-up at HA clinic/ health centre • Health centre GP • Private GP • Health Promotion Department • Weight Reduction sessions • Smoking cessation interventions • Nutritional advice • GU Clinic • Dermatology Unit Boffa Hospital • Psychologist services (community mental health teams)according to severityof issue/s Self-referred clients Health Awareness Clinics • May be informed of clinic services via: • Health Centre • Local Parish • Local Council • Community Publications • Other community groups e.g. Sports clubs • Media • Services offered: • General Health Assessment • Basic Parameters as follow-up of primary assessment • Health Education • Advice and referral where necessary Diagram of referral system to and from HA clinic

  12. Procedures • Established detailed interviewing tool – holds a certain degree of validity and reliability since it was used in the pilot project at B’Kara Health Centre for over 4 years (more than 200 participants) • Clear management plan at end of every consultation • Nurse • Client • Every follow-up session is held with the same nurse who carried out the primary assessment • Briefing of cases by nurse prior to GP consultation • Defaulters are contacted by telephone to set another appointment and/or discuss any difficulties.

  13. client throughput and needsmid-January 2010 to December 2013 Table 1: Distribution of client appointments Table 2: Identified Needs

  14. Identified needs

  15. Identified Needs Main issues emerging: • High BMI readings • Psychological Issues • Screening blood tests • Some clients were unaware of available health services

  16. Strategies Adopted • Appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills are imperative • Empathy • Understanding and working with health beliefs and expectations • Ascertaining readiness for behavioural change • Motivational Interviewing

  17. Positive factors • Location – accessibility • Self-referral • Sharing of premises with community mental health team • Access to a range of professionals who as yet are not available directly through primary health services • Open door policy • Good element of teamwork both within those manning the health awareness clinic as well as with other teams.

  18. Challenges • Each member of the nursing and medical profession man the clinic out of personal interest and this is therefore over and above their other clinical duties • The low client throughput may be attributed to the fact that the general public is still oriented towards seeking health services when a health problem is already existent.

  19. Expected outcomes • Shift to a proactive approach whereby clients take on more responsibility for their health and preventive aspect of health • Decreased morbidity with a view to avoiding onset of chronic disease and/or complications • Further collaboration with team members to take on joint responsibility for the client • Forging further networking across departments for cross-referral e.g. community mental health services • As a future step, the clinic is being planned to be extended in other district clinics, spread across the island.

  20. Future Plans • To expand to other areas possibly according to needs assessment data • To expand services within the clinic to be a one stop shop e.g. Blood sample taking • To focus on clinics/services that are more focused on the needs of specific groups e.g. adolescents, elderly. Particular focus needs to be on where these services will be offered and specific tools to be used.

  21. References • Beaglehole et. Al. (2011). UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases: addressing four questions. The Lancet. Vol 378 July 30, 2011. • De Maesaneer J. 2011. Tackling the NCD’s: A different approach is needed. The Lancet. 18th July 2011. • World Health Organisation Europe.Gaining Health. The European Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases. WHO Europe, 2006. available at: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/76526/E89306.pdf. Accessed on 1stAugust 2014.

More Related