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IBS Guide reduces primary care consultations by 60 percent
Available in the UK from RTFB Publishing, the What Should I do? Health Management Guide for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) developed and written by the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre, NPCRDC, in Manchester is proven to make a significant reduction in primary care consultations.
With the NHS at crisis point and a high rate of inappropriate attendances within the healthcare system, the NHS Plan 2000 now recommends that more patients follow a self-care plan. The easy-to-use Guide explains all aspects of Irritable Bowel Syndrome to help patients understand the various treatment options and actively manage their illness, in partnership with their doctor and other health professionals.
IBS affects between 10 and 65 percent of the population, causing agonising abdominal pain and side effects. Females are three times more likely than males to have IBS and it can start at any age. After back pain, IBS is the second most common cause of workplace absenteeism.
The What Should I do? IBS self-care guide is already used by a number of PCTs and is of proven effectiveness. In research, the guidebook resulted in a 60 percent reduction in primary care consultations and reduced the perceived severity of patients' symptoms. Costs per patient were reduced by £73, or 40 percent per year.
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt comments, "A 30 percent reduction in admissions could mean people don't spend unnecessary time in healthcare facilities and save over £400 million a year for other services." Through the empowerment and education of patients, this is a realistic goal.
The healthcare guide is designed to offer support to patients through sharing the personal experiences of other sufferers, discussing methods of self help such as diet, exercise and complementary therapy, as well as medical treatments, coping plans and recent research.
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What Should I Do? book will help to cut unnecessary use of NHS services
The government is demanding major savings to be made across the NHS, without a reduction in the quality of service offered to patients. What should I do? is a unique 64-page self-care programme that empowers patients with the knowledge and resources to know when it would appropriate to use NHS services and when it would be more effective to manage the situation themselves.
Independent research into patient opinion concluded that patients felt more comfortable and relaxed knowing the right course of action for a particular ailment. What Should I do? gives patients a better understanding of self-care and ensures NHS services are used sensibly.
What should I do? has sold over three million copies in the UK. 36 different health authorities and health boards have purchased the booklet and well over 6,000 GP surgeries and pharmacies have used What should I do? material in their patient management initiatives.
An independent research study by the University of Southampton, examined the success of the booklet. The study found that 86% of those who were given the book, took the time to read it, and more than 40% said it had a dramatic impact on the way they manage minor illness.
Versions of the guide are available in seven other languages, (Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Urdu, Cantonese, Somali and Vietnamese) ensuring communities where English is a second language are given the opportunity to understand when it is fitting to visit a healthcare professional.
To find out how What should I do? can support your region click here.
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Travel
Health booklets featured in The Independent's Ten
Best listing
The
'What
should I do?' Travel Health Guide together with
the accompanying French
Health Phrase Book and Spanish
Health Phrase Book were featured on page 36 of the
The Independent national newspaper as one
of the Ten Best First Aid for Travellers items that travellers
should take on their holidays.
Featured
as Number 1 out of the ten items, the booklets were the
only health information material featured.
The
Independent has become on of the UK's up and coming
daily newspapers which has a readership of more than 260,000
people across the UK.
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Spanish
Travel Health pack spotlighted by Living Spain magazine
The
UK's biggest selling Spanish Property magazine Living
Spain (May/June 2005 p38) described the 'What
should I do?' Spanish Travel Health pack as "a
pair of informative and really useful booklets that deal
with health issues both from a practical point of view in
terms of staying healthy in Spain but also from a language
point of view".
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Australian
research confirms popularity of What should I do? around
the world
A research
study involving more than 5,000 people in Sydney, Australia
who received the Australian edition of 'What should I
do? Do I go to the doctor?' showed that it was regarded
as a valuable resource which would be kept for future reference.
The study.headed by Dr Susan Whicker (National Program Manager
- Quality Use of Medicines for the Royal Australian College
of General Practitioners) and Dr Bolton (Director of Medical
Services, Woolongong Hospital) recruited 5,803 patients
from Balmain General Practice Casualty in Sydney and the
HealthConnect Telephone Triage Services to evaluate an Australian
edition of the 'What should I do?' booklet.
Key
findings of the study showed the following:
- 97.7
percent of respondents kept the booklet for future reference.
- 37.8
percent of respondents said they managed the condition
themselves as a result of the information in the booklet.
- 43.5
percent of the Health Connect patients responded in
the category: Useful for common problems. May avoid a
trip to the doctor.
One
of the major outcomes of the study suggests that the use
of patient self-care information does impact on the decision
that individuals make in regard to their health care influencing
a move towards self management rather than increasing health
care seeking behaviour from existing health services.
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What
should I do? Guides receive praise from leading Women's
magazine
One
of the UK's leading mass circulation Women's magazines,
My Weekly, which is read by more than 300,000
readers, has praised two of RTFB's 'What should I do?'
publications in its 'You and Your Health' section of the
magazine's August 4 2001 issue.
The booklets featured are the 'What should I do?'
IBS Health Management Guide and the 'What should
I do?' Crohn's Disease Health Management Guide which
are described by My Weekly as being: "Absolutely
brilliant, full of real people's symptoms, lots of helpful
information, addresses, diets all written in a sympathetic
style."
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New Welsh language minor illness guide
aims at half million Welsh speakers
Following
the success of the 'What should I do? Do I go to the
doctor?' minor illness guide throughout the UK, RTFB
Publishing of Southampton has launched a Welsh language
version of the popular health management booklet.
The new guide entitled 'Beth ddylwn I ei wneud? Ddylwn
I fynd at y meddyg?' is written to help people recognise
and appropriately self-treat more than 40 minor illnesses
or conditions including: back pain, burns, colds and runny
noses, diarrhoea, earache, fever, influenza, irritable bowel
syndrome, sore throat, vomiting and wounds.
The new health management guide, which
is the first of its kind aimed at Welsh speakers, will address
approximately half a million people in Wales who use the
Welsh language.
"The advent of the Welsh Assembly has stimulated a rise
in both Welsh children and adults studying the Welsh language,"
explains Paul Buckley, RTFB Publishing's chairman. "The
demand for Welsh language health education literature is
set to rise dramatically in the coming years. There are
areas of
Wales,
notably in the Western and Northern regions (Gwynedd and
Dyfed in particular) where the Welsh language remains strong
and highly visible. The booklets are very popular with rural
communities which face greater difficulties accessing primary
care facilities."
The English language version of the booklet, 'What should
I do? Do I go to the doctor?', is being used by more
than 30 health authorities and health boards across the
UK. Thousands of GP surgeries and pharmacies actively use
the booklet and millions of UK people have benefited from
the health advice in the booklet since its UK launch in
1995.
The 'What should I do?' programme also features a
range of self-care healthcare leaflets written in eight
ethnic community languages: Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi,
Urdu, Cantonese, Somali and Vietnamese.
What should I do? Do I go to the doctor?
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IBS pocket guide helps patients
to actively manage their condition
A new
and innovative pocket guide to the effective self-management
of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is available for patients,
GPs and consultants throughout the UK from RTFB Publishing
of Southampton.
The 92-page 'What should I do?' IBS Health Management
Guide provides patients with practical information about
understanding the condition and the types of medical treatments
that are available. Where there is positive or negative
research evidence for a treatment, this is discussed in
the guide.
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The guide also enables patients to take part in their
treatment decisions and encourages them to be proactive
about their condition through diet, exercise, the use
of complementary therapies and the use of appropriate
'over-the-counter' medicines.
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The guide has a self-help checklist that allows patients
to keep a record of the medication and alternative approaches
that have been most helpful.
- A
food diary helps patients to review possible suspect foods
that may trigger symptoms.
- Importantly,
for a condition that is isolating and embarrassing, the
guide also offers support in the form of other people's
experiences of the illness.
The
'What should I do?' IBS Health Management Guide has
been researched and written by a team of health professionals
at the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre
(NPCRDC) and the Department of Gastroenterology, both based
at the University of Manchester.
IBS
is a very common digestive disorder that causes abdominal
pain and changing bowel habits, with women more likely than
men to suffer with IBS symptoms. It is believed to affect
between 10% and 65% of the population, although the exact
number of people is not known because there are many definitions
of IBS. Between 5% to 10% of the population consult their
GP each year about IBS symptoms.
"This user-friendly guide is the result of an extensive
study into the common problem of IBS. Feedback from sufferers
has
been essential in developing a guide
book that is practical, reassuring and offers sound self-management
strategies for alleviating the everyday symptoms of this
painful and embarrassing illness", comments Anne Kennedy,
co-author of the IBS Health Management Guide.
"Although IBS is not a serious medical condition it does
cause problems and disruption in people's lives in a way
that can be hard to cope with. This guide aims to offer
emotional support to sufferers as well as practical solutions.
For many people it is important to know that they do not
suffer alone".
IBS Health Management Guide
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Phrase
books help travellers talk to overseas
health
professionals
RTFB
Publishing has launched two 'What should I do?' Health
Phrase Books to help travellers and holidaymakers to communicate
confidently with overseas health professionals. The first
two pocket-sized titles in the new 'What should I do?'
Health Phrase Book series address the French and Spanish
markets.
The easy-reference books are packed with many essential
health-related words, phrases and phonetic pronunciations.
They also feature diagrams showing major parts of the body
with indications of what they are called in the local language.
The books have been developed to help people obtain the
most appropriate treatment by communicating their health
problems more effectively.
| RTFB
has published the booklets in response to the fact that
almost 50 percent
of
people suffer some kind of illness while travelling
or holidaying in Europe. Although most
of these illnesses are minor,
more than 90
percent of
these cases call for some form of treatment from a local
pharmacist or health professional. |
Even in popular destinations such as Spain there is evidence
that some pharmacists fail to fully understand symptoms
described in English. Although treatments often prove to
be appropriate there have been a number of cases where inappropriate
treatments have been potentially dangerous.
French Health Phrase Book
Spanish Health Phrase Book
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New Crohn's disease guide enables
patients
to manage their health
A new
and innovative pocket guide to the effective self-management
of Crohn's disease is available for patients, GPs and consultants
throughout the UK.
The
100 page 'What should I do?' Crohn's Disease Health Management
Guide which includes a Personal Health Record Book,
covers all key areas of interest to Crohn's disease patients.
Presented
in a user-friendly format, the Guide provides a variety
of information including:
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The
range of tests and treatment, surgery options, nutritional
therapy, guidance on pregnancy and contraception
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Advice
about longer-term surveillance of the condition
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Essential
background information about what Crohn's disease
actually is, its possible causes and how it affects
patients
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The
Personal Health Record Book is a key part of the
Guide which enables patients to monitor and record their
self-management plan and test results in association with
their hospital specialist.
The
'What should I do?' Crohn's Disease Health Management
Guide has been researched and written by a team of health
professionals at the National Primary Care Research and
Development Centre (NPCRDC) and the Department of Gastroenterology,
both based at the University of Manchester.
Crohn's
disease is a serious inflammatory disease that can affect
any part of the digestive tract from the mouth to the rectum
but most commonly affects the small intestine. It affects
between 30,000 to 50,000 people in the UK with 3,000 new
cases diagnosed each year.
"Crohn's
disease is a complex condition that can seriously affect
the patient's lifestyle and quality of life. The Health
Management Guide offers many people the opportunity to take
part in treatment decisions for the first time, while enabling
an effective self-management plan to be drawn-up between
patients and their specialist", comments Anne Kennedy, co-author
of the Guide.
" We
know from our research with patients that they want immediate
access to user-friendly, relevant information. When this
is combined with an effective method of monitoring test
results, diet and symptoms many patients feel empowered
and able to cope better with their condition".
Crohn's Disease Health Management Guide
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Rural communities research
A small
remote rural community in the Australian outback has been
part of a study to gauge the usefulness of the new Australian
version of 'What should I do? Do I go to the doctor?'.
The community of Eugowra in rural New South Wales was researched
to check its thoughts on whether a self-care minor illness
booklet would be of benefit to people who are a long way
from medical professionals on a daily basis.
Perhaps
not surprisingly there was a 100 percent recall of interviewees
receiving the booklet. As many as 56 percent of the interviewees
said they read the booklet thoroughly with the remaining
44 percent saying they glanced through it. No one put it
to the side without reading it at all.
- Everyone
who received the booklet said they kept it for reference
and everyone found it useful to some degree with 59 percent
saying it was 'very useful'.
- As
many as 34 percent of those interviewed said that the booklet
changed the way they dealt with an illness/problem or the
way medical advice was sought.
- The
booklet encouraged 13 percent of people to treat themselves
while 16 percent sought help from their pharmacist instead
of the GP.
- Almost
20 percent of interviewees said they had referred to the
booklet at least twice for advise on an illness or medical
program wit 13 percent saying they had consulted the booklet
more than three times.
- As
many as 38 percent of those interviewed said they had already
recommended the booklet to someone else in the community.
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Birmingham
seeks to reduce 'Winter Pressures' in deprived areas
Birmingham
Health Authority is using RTFB Publishing's 'What should
I do? Do I go to the doctor?' booklet as a key element
in its 'Winter Pressures' health education programme.
As many
as 150,000 booklets were delivered prior to Christmas to
residents in some of the most deprived areas of Birmingham's
metropolis.
The
68-page booklet provides easy-to-read advice on as many
as 40 of the most common minor illnesses or health conditions.
The booklet features a custom designed 'Treat yourself to
good health' outsert designed and produced by RTFB following
Birmingham Health Authority's brief.
Birmingham
Health Authority is seeking to reduce demand on primary
care and Accident and Emergency services by providing a
proven health education booklet. 'What should I do? Do
I go to the doctor?' has been used by more than 36 different
Health Authorities or Health Promotion Units throughout
the UK.
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To order
your copy of a What should I do? booklet
use one of the following methods:
On-line
Shop
Phone: +44 (0) 23 8022
9041
Fax: +44 (0) 23
8022 7274
 
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