Lessons learnt from a community heart disease prevention project

Abstract

This article describes a project funded by the Health Education Authority (HEA) to address heart disease prevention on a housing estate whose residents had an identified high risk. We describe the main lessons we learnt, focusing on the factors we perceive to be keys to success: the community empowerment approach, the attributes of the project worker, the support of many agencies and networks, a high publicity profile, a clear evaluation process, and planning for the end of the project lifespan. We discuss other notable issues we faced: cost in terms of money and time, the learning and tensions inherent in managing a community development project from the NHS, the beneficial lack of project identity by residents, and the fact that the project predominantly reached women, but few men.