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CARESSf

CARESSf

Introduction about the study, objectives and methods

A cardiac arrest occurs when someone’s heart suddenly stops beating. In the UK, around 5,500 people survive their cardiac arrest each year. For these people, life is never the same again. Long-term problems with memory, emotions, fatigue, and physical difficulties can reduce their quality of life. People are often anxious about carrying out daily activities. These changes can be upsetting for family members and key supporters, particularly if they were present at the time of the arrest. They may also experience long-term emotional difficulties. Little is known about how best to support survivors and their family members following cardiac arrest. Some may need specialist care and support. Some survivors attend cardiac rehabilitation, but this is not designed to address the specific emotional and physical needs of a cardiac arrest survivor.

We want to develop a new programme of one-to-one education, support, and exercise rehabilitation, provided soon after returning home from hospital, to help improve the quality of life of survivors and their family members. In this study, we will develop an early support programme and assess whether it can be delivered in the NHS.

How will we do this? We will adapt an existing rehabilitation programme, originally developed for other patient groups. The new programme will be delivered face-to-face in person, or online using video-conferencing software like Microsoft Teams.

Contact details

Dates of the project

  • Phase 1: Developing the CARESS care pathway. November 6, 2023 to October 31, 2024.
  • Phase 2: Testing the care pathway with survivors and key supporters. November 1, 2024 to March 31, 2026.

Funding information

The study is funded by the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) through their Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) programme. This is a Tier 2 award (Reference: NIHR204049)