Congratulations to Barbara Conway, Cardiovascular Clinical Team Leader at NHS Darlington, who has won the British Journal of Cardiology Prize for Innovation in Cardiac Rehabilitation. She was awarded £500 at the BACR’s (British Association of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation) recent conference.
Barbara Conway’s research explored the reasons why people from deprived socio-economic backgrounds access phase 3 cardiac rehabilitation services less than others. She calls these patients the ‘unheard’ in the health service.
The study gathered interview data from 10 inhabitants of the five poorest electoral wards in Darlington, aiming to discover common beliefs about the health services which might cause the discrepancy. Some of the findings looked at inhibitors to cardiac rehabilitation with participants saying that they could not see the perceived benefit of cardiac rehabilitation in achieving lifestyle goals. Instead they focused on the harm that attending could do them. All the participants also said they did not like groups and preferred not to attend sessions as they wanted to be alone.
Conway recommends further research into this area asserting that it will help to plan, develop and evaluate cardiac rehabilitation services to ensure they are inclusive for people from all socio-economic groups.
