Heart Foundation Targets Those Not Being Assessed To Get Checked Out

To support the achievement of the national Health Target ‘More heart and diabetes checks’, the Heart Foundation launched a six week awareness campaign which commenced on the 25th of March and continued through to the end of April 2013 to encourage New Zealanders to visit their GP for a heart check. The campaign built on the work of the Heart Foundation’s Know Your Numbers and Health Promotion Agency’s Bring Back Buck awareness campaigns of 2012 and focused on those eligible New Zealanders who are not currently being risk assessed and managed.

The campaign was timed to follow on from the launch of two new Heart Foundation CV risk and management resources; Taking Control, My Plan for Heart Health – a patient focussed/health practitioner guided lifestyle change booklet, and Improve heart health: CV risk assessment and management an e-programme which has been developed to support primary health care professionals to improve the outcomes for individual with elevated cardiovascular risk.

The objective of this campaign was to drive eligible New Zealanders to their GP or nurse to have a heart check. Their primary audience was Maori/Pacific Islanders f 35-50 years which is the largest group not currently being assessed. The secondary audience was all eligible New Zealanders as per New Zealand guidelines.

The key messages of the campaign were that people should visit their GP for a heart health check to know what their risk level is and what they can do about it. People, generally need to take control of your own heart health and should start a plan for heart health with their GP or nurse. This can be achieved through channels such as heart health advocates with local presentations focussing on heart checks and promotion to contacts/touch-points regionally (health agencies and workplace contacts made during the 2012 Know Your Numbers campaign).

Every year thousands of New Zealand families are devastated by premature and preventable heart disease. The Heart Foundation is a trusted voice on heart health in New Zealand and through their wide-ranging heart health work they aim to give all New Zealanders the tools and support needed to ensure they can fulfil their lifetime. This work includes funding world-leading heart research, developing heart health initiatives designed to keep New Zealanders’ hearts as healthy and strong as possible. It includes the education of all New Zealanders on how to have heart healthy lifestyles, by championing the best care for New Zealanders at risk of, or living with heart disease.

To find out more about the Heart Foundation, go to their website at http://www.heartfoundation.org.nz.