HOPE Pilot Project
Helping Overcome Problems Effectively (HOPE) is a supported self-management programme for breast cancer survivors within the Birmingham east and north area. The HOPE course is six weeks long, each session being 2.5 hours, and is run by a trained nurse tutor and a trained cancer survivor or peer. Core content includes:
- Instilling hopefulness
- Gratitude
- Goal setting
- Preparing for change
- Challenging unhelpful thinking
- Finding motivation
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Communication with health professionals
Course outcomes are assessed before the course, on completion of the course, and then six and 12 months after the course. At six months after the course, a range of patient reported outcomes were measured and the results showed:
- Improvements in total generic quality of life, in particular for fatigue and physical pain
- Reduced distress over recurrence – a component of cancer related quality of life
- Increased confidence to meet goals (self efficacy)
You can read the full findings in the Interim Report available to download below.
Following these successful results, discussions began with NHS Birmingham East and North in order to make the course available to all of their cancer patients. Additional patient facilitators have been trained by Coventry University and the programme will be available for cancer patients early in 2011.
This project will continue to collect the follow up data from the participants on the three pilot courses until the summer of 2011. A final report will then be produced which incorporates the patient outcome data at six and 12 month after the course.
The learning from this project has been incorporated in to the current supported self management project at Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Last updated on December 30, 2010