Have a Heart Paisley
Phase One
Have a Heart Paisley is a partnership between NHS Argyll & Clyde, Renfrewshire Council, voluntary and community organisations and the people of Paisley.
Launched in October 2000, within a spirit of enthusiasm, Have a Heart Paisley aimed to provide a uniting focus for action across a broad front to prevent coronary heart disease, promote good health and reduce health inequalities in Paisley, Scotland's largest town.
In Phase One Have a Heart Paisley took a population wide approach. The aim of this approach was to complement interventions involving individuals at high risk with activities that change the risk profile of the whole population.
Independent evaluation reports of Phase One of Have a Heart Paisley are available on this site.
The evaluation and experience from the project and other community health initiatives suggests that targeting the whole population was a slightly over-ambitious goal. Positive health improvement changes may only be expected and demonstrated over a long period, when driven by a project that focuses on a high risk population and is supported by wider prevention activities.
Phase Two
In 2003, Improving Health in Scotland: The Challenge signalled commitment to a second phase of the programme.
In Phase Two, Have a Heart Paisley has moved from a broad population approach to an approach that focuses support for those most at risk of developing heart disease and makes services accessible to those most in need.
Have a Heart Paisley's vision for Phase 2 is to deliver, through the combined efforts of its community, voluntary, local authority and NHS partners, a targeted programme for the working age population (those aged 45-60 at risk of heart disease and those of any age with heart disease in Paisley).
The aim is to demonstrate the degree to which primary and secondary preventive measures can improve heart health by tackling risk factors - smoking, physical inactivity and poor diet - and unmet needs for treatment, with a particular focus on those in deprived communities. Using a health coaching model - a new and innovative approach - target groups will be encouraged to access the best possible help and services across a range of settings - NHS, Local Authority and voluntary sector - to reduce their risk.
Further details are available in the Phase Two plan.
Learning from Have a Heart Paisley
The independent evaluation report of Phase One is available on the Heart Health National Learning Network website where a range of internal evaluation reports, learning templates and details of learning days and a DVD of Have a Heart Paisley's work in Phase One are also available.
For further information on the Heart Health National Learning Network view the network's website.
For further information on Have a Heart Paisley view the project's website.