Paper
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Addressing health inequalities in a primary care organisation in the United Kingdom
Linda Dobrzanska, RN:, MSc:, Dip, (N), research, Bradford & Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust, Bradford, United Kingdom
| Learning Objective #1: understand the development and dissemination of a menopause DVD to help address health inequalities |
| Learning Objective #2: understand how Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation Framework was used for the evaluation of the Menoapuse DVD |
Needs assessment is about change and it is essential to know what to change from as well as what to change to, which is why evaluation is a major component of any health needs assessment. This presentation will focus on a health needs assessment and evaluation undertaken on menopausal services available to women of South Asian origin living in an inner city locality in the United Kingdom. Problems of inequalities and access to health services were identified. A health promotion nurse and research & development coordinator in Bradford & Airedale Teaching Primary Care Trust came up with the idea of using a DVD as an approach to disseminate information to this group of women. Using a multi-disciplinary approach with collaboration from the ethnic community, a General Medical Practitioner, health promotion nurse, research & development coordinator, a video production company and community development workers, a DVD of the menopause was produced. The aim of the DVD was to raise awareness about the menopause as a normal and natural process, whilst also ensuring women would feel confident about accessing support and advice from health professionals. Three languages were used to ensure the majority of South Asian women in the health district would be able to understand the simple messages. To ensure the DVD was effective, relevant and was able to sustain collaboration between the diverse communities and the health sector it was evaluated using Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation Framework.
Information will be given on how the DVD was developed and disseminated to health professionals working in primary care settings across the United Kingdom. The results from the theoretical evaluation of the menopause DVD will be shared and how the evaluation has helped shape the future direction of menopausal services for ethnic communities in one primary care setting.