Press Releases & News
Press Releases & News at a glance:
New Online Asthma Program
Jan 24th, 2011
Education for Health is today delighted to be announcing the launch of a brand new, online asthma program. The Nurse Asthma Care Education (NACE) program is offered as a multi-faceted online learning environment to improve nurse and other health professionals’ awareness, knowledge and pragmatic skills to implement when working with asthma patients.
The format is interactive, the program is accredited for nurses in the USA and is based on NHLBI EPR-3 guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma and based on GINA evidence-based guidelines. Content is focused on the basics of asthma and asthma management, cultural competence and patient education techniques to improve patient adherence to therapeutic regimens. Patient education tools are available for download.
Participants will take an educational venture through colorful slide presentations, a video of patient education techniques, case studies, role plays and multi-choice type questions. All this can be done in the comforts of the home or in the office-based environment. All that is needed is a computer with internet access and speakers. The program can be completed all at one time or as a series of modules. Participants who complete the program will be able to immediately download a continuing education certificate of program completion.
The program is brought to you as a unique partnership between Education for Health (formerly the National Respiratory Training Center) and the Center for Chronic Disease Management at the University of Michigan, USA. This course has been adapted from PACE (Physician Asthma Care Education Program).
Education for Health and Other Leading Experts Call for National Strategies to Tackle COPD - An Emerging Epidemic in the Workforce
Nov 17th, 2010
COPD Uncovered 2010, a new report issued today, exposes the devastating economic, social and personal impact of COPD in the 40-65 years age group - the mainstay of the global workforce. These results have led respiratory experts to call for the implementation of National Strategies to tackle this disease in the working age population.
 Authored by Education for Health and other leading specialists, the report uncovers the true cost of COPD in the working age population and reveals its significant impact on work and quality of life. The authors are appealing to policy makers, the medical community and other stakeholders such as employers to create and implement tactics such as earlier diagnosis and management, in order to keep people healthy and productive for longer.
"It's an economic time-bomb" said Monica Fletcher, Chief Executive of Education for Health. "The key generation driving the economy in most countries are people aged 40-65 years and in this harsh economic climate, we need to ensure they stay active and productive. With the incidence of COPD set to rise, with increasing numbers of women being affected than previously thought, it can only mean that personal and societal cost will also increase."
"COPD is often considered a disease of old men, but there are far more people aged under 65 years with this condition than previously recognised. We are calling for policy makers to prioritise the early diagnosis and integrated management of COPD in this population".
Read the full COPD Uncovered Press Release and download the Report here
New online training courses from Education for Health set to improve management of children and adults with asthma
Nov 8th, 2010
Global education and research charity Education for Health has launched a new eLearning resource on asthma at diploma level, as part of its new eLearning vision. A new degree level course will also be launched by the end of November. Despite effective treatments and comprehensive clinical guidelines, asthma morbidity and mortality remains unacceptably high throughout the world. These new online study modules equip healthcare professionals at all levels with the knowledge and expertise to meet the challenges of asthma.
The online course provides an impressive virtual learning environment packed with the latest eLearning features including audio, animation and illustrations that make learning both fun and memorable. Participants also have email/phone support from clinical staff at Education for Health to discuss any issues that come up during the course.
Erica Haines, Asthma Clinical Lead at Education for Health commented, "This is an excellent form of learning. All the latest information is there, backed up by easily accessible references. Any new developments can be added to the course almost immediately so students are really up to date. Videos of ‘real life' patient consultations and training to improve patient concordance with therapy will really help in clinical practice. The course gives you everything that a paper based distance learning package does not, and really brings training to life"!
View the full news release here (PDF)
Education for Health unveils plans to improve asthma care across the Saudi Health Service
Oct 11th, 2010
Leading healthcare and education Charity Education for Health outlined new plans today for continuing its work to improve asthma care in Saudi Arabia where it has been working with a number of doctors to develop training programmes for Saudi GPs since 2004.
The plans mark a significant next step in using health professional education as a lever for asthma service improvement. New study materials and a new two day training course for nurses, pharmacists and patient educators working with asthma patients across the Saudi Health Service has been developed and starts this week. The course is being led by Erica Haines, Clinical Lead for Asthma at Education for Health as part of a special collaboration with Astra Zeneca (Saudi).
“Two million Saudi people suffer from asthma1 and it’s one of Saudi’s most common chronic conditions1. A recent report from the Saudi Initiative for Asthma (SINA)3 suggests 64% of Saudi asthma patients have uncontrolled asthma4, and local reports2 suggest prevalence is increasing” said Erica, “we believe this highlights two very specific training needs: asthma patients need to be taught how to manage their asthma effectively, and more health professionals need to be taught how to assess, manage and treat asthma in primary care. ‘Improving Asthma in Saudi’ is a new two day programme which we have designed to introduce asthma to a new audience who are in a strong position to improve care and services for patients”.
Read the full press release here (PDF)
World Spirometry Day - Helping to raise the awareness of lung health across the globe
Sept 2nd, 2010
 2010 is Year of The Lung, and as part of this campaign, October 14th 2010 is World Spirometry Day. A number of events (with the aim of raising the awareness of lung diseases); will be taking place all over the world and across the UK. Monica Fletcher (Chief Executive at Education for Health) in her new position as incoming Chair of the European Lung Foundation is co-ordinating the UK activity, along with representatives from the BLF, BTS,ARTP, REUK, AUK, PCRS-UK and the Department of Health.
We will be contributing to this important day working with the West Midlands SHA Respiratory Leads by running free half day spirometry workshops across the West Midlands. The workshop ‘interpretation of spirometry and its implications to clinical practice’ will be delivered using cases studies and will be aimed at GPs and Practice nurses. We plan to put on 4 workshops across the region, with the aim of running 2 workshops at each venue with 20 people attending each session. It would be really fantastic if we could reach 160 healthcare professionals during the course of the day!
For further information on attending the workshops, or even helping out with this exciting opportunity, please contact Sandy Walmsley, Joint Respiratory Clinical Lead West Midlands SHA at sandy.walmsley@nhs.net
Fantastic New Resource - Inspiring Asthma Management
Aug 7th, 2010
 Education for Health and OCB Media (with funding from Allen & Hanburys), have developed a fantastic new online resource to help you with diagnosing and assessing asthma control.
Based on real life case studies this is a practical tool for use individually or with a team of your colleagues. A team of experts at Education for Health have developed the content and we hope this has been presented in a way that is helpful in your day to day contact with patients.
As we also believe that education should be engaging and fun. We have attempted to bring together our experience in teaching and learning and clinical practice with the new technologies now available to us in how to deliver education; we hope you will enjoy this unique experience of web-based learning.
www.inspiringasthmamanagement.co.uk
Supporting the National Clinical Strategy for COPD and revised NICE COPD guidelines:
a new spirometry eLearning course from Education for Health
Aug 3rd, 2010
Leading education and research Education for Health has launched a new interactive eLearning resource on spirometry as part of its eLearning vision. The new National Clinical Strategy for COPD and revised NICE guidelines on COPD highlight the importance of high quality spirometry in primary care and the new Diploma and Degree level courses aim to meet this need.
In recent years, the accuracy of spirometry readings and interpretation in primary care has come under criticism. The two online courses have been designed by clinicians to incorporate all the latest improvements in technology and clinical guidance to improve the quality of spirometry at all levels.
The online course design provides an impressive virtual learning environment packed with the latest eLearning features. Students can log in to a personalised learning environment which is enhanced by audio, animation and specially commissioned video of real-life spirometry taking place in primary care. Both courses are also supported by high quality interactive study days, one of which incorporates practical accessment.
Chris Loveridge, Clinical Lead for COPD at Education for Health commented, “Spirometry is a technical diagnostic test and requires thorough training and ongoing support. Inadequate training could result in a misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. This situation needs to change urgently to meet the requirements of the National Clinical Strategy and the new NICE guidelines. Well trained health care professionals will use spirometry to confirm a diagnosis of respiratory disease (supported by clinical history) in order to give patients the right support and treatment. They will also potentially use it to screen for the ‘missing millions’ who have undiagnosed COPD. It is therefore of utmost importance that this testing is undertaken by competent trained practitioners.”
View the full news release here (PDF)
Education for Health Awards Ceremony provides evidence of the key role that Healthcare Professionals hold in supporting the QIPP Agenda
July 12th, 2010
 More healthcare professionals than ever before are responding to the governments shift of nursing towards an all graduate profession by choosing to study Diploma, Degree and Masters Programmes. Evidence of this was seen on the 9th July 2010 when leading education Charity Education for Health celebrated the graduation of another 25 healthcare professionals at a touching ceremony, which took place at St Mary's Church, Warwick.
“Many nursing roles are demanding, require an advanced level of practice and clinical knowledge and are key to supporting the QIPP agenda. The shift of nursing towards an all graduate profession gives due credit to this and the important role that nurses have in preventing disease and disease progression through the highest quality care. Degree level education provides nurses with the decision making skills that they need to make high-level judgements in the changing NHS” commented Monica Fletcher, Chief Executive at Education for Health.
Jackie Walker from Cambridge, Karen Orr from Belfast and Jane McCarthy from Herefordshire, were just three of the graduates delighted to receive awards this year. Jackie Walker who works as a community based Respiratory Nurse Specialist was awarded with a First Class Honours Degree in Respiratory Care. She believes that it is studying with Education for Health that has enabled her to make more innovative use of the resources available to her and to use research evidence to find out what services apply to her specific patient population enabling her to improve productivity in her practice: “I now have a much greater understanding of the significance of research. I feel much more confident in being able to analyse research, differentiate between good and bad and appreciate how to use the good research to support my clinical practice”.
“We’re very proud of our graduates who all leave us as committed, knowledgeable healthcare providers, able to stand by their clinical opinions and make a real difference to patient care. It’s rewarding to know that as the number of healthcare professionals graduating with us continues to rise, even more patients will benefit as these healthcare professionals harness new innovations and ideas to ensure that they deliver the highest quality care” said Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Education and Research at Education for Health.
View full news release here.
Hayfever affects exam results - BBC interview with Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Education and Research, Education for Health
July 7th, 2010
 Research suggests that students who have hayfever on exam day are 40% more likely to drop a grade. GCSE and A Level exams are held when pollen levels are highest.
Research published in 2007 demonstrated a link between hayfever and exam performance1. The study showed that young people, who had hayfever symptoms (including sneezing, blocked nose and itchy eyes) on the day they took their GCSE exam, were 40% more likely to drop a grade between their "mock" and final examinations than those without hayfever.
This is an important issue for students at this already stressful time in the school calendar and we believe that a small amount of education about the different medications available, and the importance of taking them as early as possible, could make an enormous difference to the long term sucess of thousands of school children and students across the UK.
Healthcare professionals based in primary care are in a particularly strong position to truly make a difference and help equip these children and students with the information that they need in order to optimise their hayfever symptom management.
Watch the BBC interview 'Hayfever affects exam results' with Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Education and Research at Education for Health.
References:
1. Walker S, Khan-Wasti S, Fletcher M, et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2007;120 (2):381-38
COPD Uncovered Latest Data: Study Demonstrates Economic Impact of COPD on Healthcare Systems
Jun 16th, 2010
A study presented on 18th May 2010 at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Conference in New Orleans by Education for Health shows that the economic toll of COPD is set to soar as the disease heads towards being the third biggest cause of death globally by 2020.
The latest phase of the COPD Uncovered Initiative was revealed at the International Primary Care Respiratory Group (IPCRG) Conference on Thursday 3rd June.
These were the results to an international survey questioning 2426 COPD patients of working age (45 to 68 years) on their use of healthcare services. The results of this survey, combined with available standard UK healthcare provider costs, show that the impact to healthcare governments on a monthly basis is over £875,000 for these patients alone. This breaks down as an average cost of £362 per patient per month.
Although there were variations between countries, on average over half the patients had visited their general practitioner at least once in the previous four weeks. Primary care-based treatment of COPD was shown to be the most economic option (£52* per patient per month; total per month = £63,128*), while the greatest cost to healthcare systems came from hospital in-patients (£2,304* per patient per month; total per month = £665,856*).
The data presented on the 3rd June represents a sub-analysis of the survey presented at the American Thoracic Society congress last month, which demonstrated the economic and social burden of COPD in terms of reducing patients’ ability to continue in fulltime employment and carry on with their normal lifestyle.
Read the full COPD Uncovered Press Release and download the Report here
Study highlights devastating global economic and social impact of COPD
May 18th, 2010
 A study presented on 18th May 2010 at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Conference in New Orleans by Education for Health shows that the economic toll of COPD is set to soar as the disease heads towards being the third biggest cause of death globally by 2020.
The international and expert-led survey is the first of its kind detailing the impact of COPD on a working-age population and highlights an urgent need to keep individuals with COPD active and contributing to society for the benefit of all.
The survey highlights that society faces a double economic impact from the growing COPD crisis. Not only are patients losing an average of $1800 per year in lost income due to their COPD, but nearly 1 in 5 of 45-68 year olds are forced to retire prematurely due to the condition, thereby incurring increased health costs and reducing personal contribution from taxation.
Read the full COPD Uncovered Press Release and download the Report here
Education for Health unveils new eLearning vision which tackles access to continuing professional development and raises education quality standards
May 13th, 2010
Global education and research charity Education for Health laid out new plans today for reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with some of the world's most important preventable long term conditions - by unveiling a new digital and eLearning strategy which meets the global need for long term conditions education and national demands for primary and community focussed post-registration trail.
“The need for innovative cost effective interventions which help reduce the personal impact of long term conditions on individual patients and their families is more urgent than ever before” said Chief Executive Monica Fletcher. “But whilst public spending on health services is rightly under scrutiny, decisive action is imperative if we are to successfully reduce the economic impact of chronic disease. Simply aiming to maintain the quality of care provided is not enough. Evidence shows patients who are cared for by appropriately trained health professionals have better health outcomes, so it makes sense to use technology to remove some of the barriers to continuing professional development. If more health professionals can undertake high quality training, the pool of professionally educated clinicians available to patients is bigger; patients can expect better healthcare and improved health outcomes and should ultimately reduce their health service utilisation. Our eLearning vision tackles time out for training, access, and flexibility head on.”
To deliver on this vision Education for Health has launched http://elearning.educationforhealth.org - a visually stunning virtual learning environment and announced the imminent release of an entirely new portfolio of more than 15 digitally interactive respiratory and cardiovascular course learning materials which come complete with free taster sessions. All learning materials are packed with some of the most up to date eLearning features and combine with acclaimed face to face study days and clinically relevant assessment to comprise Open University accredited diploma and degree level modules. In keeping with their reputation for high quality, experiential learning, Education for Health is also making the most of technological advances to improve student participation according to individual learning styles.
Click here to view the full News Release.
National Respiratory Training Center Wins Contract to Help People with Asthma in the United States and Beyond
Dec 3rd, 2009
The National Respiratory Training Center is part of National Institutes of Health effort to advance asthma control and care.
People with asthma in the United States stand to breathe easier thanks to a $100,000, two-year contract approved by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to the National Respiratory Training Center.
The contract will fund a new project called EPR-3 – MAGIC (Medical Providers as Asthma Guideline Implementation Champions) that will provide a comprehensive and evidence-based interactive continuing medical education program for nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to engage nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the implementation of asthma clinical guidelines” said Judith Taylor-Fishwick, Director, National Respiratory Training Center. “The new project will provide continuing medical education as well as build asthma guideline implementation project champions at the local and regional level.”
Read full Press Release
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