Signed, sealed, delivered and it’s a wrap! On Tuesday 26^th November 2019, we completed the final session of our six-week chronic disease self-management course. This was our third and final workshop of the year. In April 2019, we held our first 6-week course, and this was followed by our second one in August 2019.

This final set of workshops began on 22^nd October with a class of 13, all-female and whose ages ranged from 25 to 60.

We had a dynamic group of ladies who were keen to learn, very willing to participate and share their health stories and experiences and support each other; this created a great atmosphere for learning and built a strong sense of camaraderie.

Over the six weeks, we covered a number of self-management techniques such as action-planning, physical activity, problem-solving, decision making, healthy eating, medication management, communication skills and more.

Through group work, brainstorming sessions and homework, the course material came to life for participants and they were able to apply what was learnt each week to their own personal situation.

During our weekly feedback sessions, it was very rewarding to hear the impact the self-management techniques had made in just a short space of time and to hear of how each topic caused participants to reflect on their lifestyle and make a commitment to make healthier choices.

As usual, the section on food labels caused quite a stir when participants realized the quantities of sugar, salt and fat in many of the items they consume and this was a bit of a wake-up call with participants making small changes like switching to skimmed milk and reducing their portion sizes.

Once again, we found facilitating this course to have been a very rewarding experience and look forward to hosting more of these courses next year.

We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who attended the course. We know it was a significant time commitment and we appreciate your dedication, time and your willingness to get involved.

On 14^th November 2019, we were delighted to have been able to attend the Forum for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control which was hosted by the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund in partnership with the Ministry of Health in St Kitts and Nevis.

This event aimed to bring together both local and international organisations working in the field to share their experiences, present their work and thus provide a platform to learn, share best practices, promote regional collaboration and identify the best way forward in tackling chronic diseases in St Kitts and Nevis.

This was a very important event as chronic diseases are a major cause of death in St Kitts and Nevis – 83% of deaths in the Federation are due to chronic diseases. Therefore, the prevention and control of these conditions is a major priority for the Ministry of Health and the ICDF is working towards supporting the government to strengthen its non-communicable disease (NCD) strategy.

Over the three days of the forum, in attendance were representatives from CARPHA, the Ministries of Health of Belize, St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Kitts and Nevis; the JNF Hospital in St Kitts; the St Kitts Diabetes Association, Community Health Centres in St Kitts and Nevis and the Taipei Veterans General Hospital.

We attended on the second day of this event. The theme for the day was: ‘Chronic Disease Management – Where to Go?’ This was an excellent and informative day featuring presentations from:

• Dr Bichara Sahely, Consultant Physician, Internal Medicine, JNF Hospital, St Kitts
• Dr Aljay Pierre, Medical Officer, Internal Medicine, JNF Hospital, St Kitts
• Dr Wei-Cheng Tseng, Taipei Veterans General Hospital
• Dr Hazel Laws, Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health, St Kitts
• Dr Marissa Carty, NCD Program Coordinator, Ministry of Health, St Kitts
• Mr Feng-Ta Tsai, Project Manager, Taiwan, ICDF

Together, the speakers provided an overview of the position around NCDs and made recommendations for what is required going forward if we are to effectively reduce the burden caused by NCDs. The take-home message of the day was the need for a greater focus on NCD prevention as most countries in the Caribbean will not be able to address NCDs with medical care alone.

The event ended with a very lively Q&A and panel discussion, giving the audience the opportunity to engage with the speakers and collectively explore solutions to addressing NCDs.

We very much enjoyed attending this event and found the presentations from Dr Sahely and Dr Pierre, particularly insightful. They both provided a very interesting perspective from doctors working on the frontline at the JNF Hospital to diagnose, treat and support patients.  They highlighted that there is much work to be done in the Federation and this will involve improvements and changes to the system to facilitate prevention, early diagnosis, better management of patients with NCDs and an improvement in the quality of care delivered.

We look forward to playing our own very small part in tackling NCDs and would like to thank the ICDF and Ministry of Health for organising this event.

It’s been pretty busy over the past few months so you may have noticed we’ve been very quiet on the social media, newsletter and blog front. We had to take a break from these three activities and focus on some new projects.

We’re a tiny team and during busy periods we have to pull back from the lighter work to ensure that we can get things done.

So, what have we been up to?

Over the past few months our  Public Health support service has taken off and we have had the pleasure of working with clients, all NGOs, on research and grant writing contracts.

Our clients are working on a range of wellbeing projects across four African countries including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia and South Africa.  What a fantastic learning experience this has been. The wonders of technology have meant that we can cross borders and cultures right from the comfort of our office and have a significant impact on organisations that require support to achieve their aims and objects.  It has been fulfilling assisting small organisations in developing their project ideas and acquiring the funds they require to conduct much-needed work in the areas of FGM, poverty alleviation, education, healthcare and more.  And, because we’re a non-profit we can offer these services at an affordable price to organisations that wouldn’t normally be able to access these services, and the money we have made from these contracts is funding our own work – our fibroids programme, our childhood obesity prevention projects and covering our operational costs.  This has been a win-win.

As well as the growth of this new service, over the past few months, we’ve received two grants and are working on a physical activity bid for the Ministry of Education. It’s fun times ahead.

The first grant we received was from the Taiwanese International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) for a new fun pilot project we’re in the process of planning called My Healthy Heroes. We’re developing engaging resources which can be used in schools and at home to educate children about healthy eating and to encourage children to make healthy choices. We’re delighted to be piloting our approach with the Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Basseterre, St Kitts, starting in 2020. At the moment we’re working hard to develop a collection of resources, ensure they fit into the school curriculum and gain useful insights from teachers, children and the Ministry of Education to help inform the direction of this pilot project.

The second grant we received was from Soca Girls Rock! to support our new research study exploring the needs of women living with fibroids. This work aims to provide an in-depth exploration of women’s experiences and help us identify any psychosocial, personal, institutional and physical challenges that women with fibroids may experience that may impact their health and wellbeing. By exploring these issues, we can develop an understanding of how fibroids may affect a woman’s quality of life and this will enable us to begin to focus on strategies to support women who have been affected by fibroids. We’ve recently applied for ethics approval and once granted, our project will begin – yay!

Finally, we’re excited to have received approval from the Ministry of Education for a bid to conduct some work to increase the amount and quality of physical activity that children participate in using an innovative approach. This approach fuses 3-D animation with physical activity. It’s still a very early stage in the bid process so we won’t say much more, but once things progress, we’ll provide an update.

So, yes, work-wise it has been a great few months and we are very grateful for all the opportunities that have come our way. A big thank you the ICDF, Soca Girls Rock! and The Ministry of Education for their support and a big thank you to our new clients, it has been wonderful working with you.

We are absolutely delighted to announce that we recently received a grant from Soca Girls Rock! (SGR!) to support our new fibroids research project.

At the time of writing, we were just about to submit our application to the Ministry of Health’s Interim Ethics Review Committee for ethics approval and once that is granted our project will begin.

Our new project is a qualitative research study that will explore the experiences of women living in St Kitts and Nevis who have been affected by fibroids. This work aims to provide an in-depth exploration of women’s experiences and help us identify any psychosocial, personal, institutional and physical challenges that women with fibroids may experience that may impact their health and wellbeing. By exploring these issues, we can develop an understanding of how fibroids may affect a woman’s quality of life and this will enable us to begin to focus on strategies to support women who have been affected by fibroids.

To our knowledge, there has been no research conducted in St Kitts and Nevis to understand the experiences of women living with fibroids. Therefore, this study will make a significant contribution to filling an information gap in women’s health.

We would like to say a big thank you to Soca Girls Rock! for supporting this project and for continuing to support women-led, Caribbean-based initiatives.

When asked about the importance of providing funds to women-led organisations to support research projects like this, SGR! stated:

“The challenges of womanhood can and should be addressed by women.”

We are also grateful to SGR! for providing us with access to the technical expertise to conduct this research project by facilitating a collaboration with Dr Fanta Waterman (MPH, PhD), the Managing Director of Serrette Brown Research and Consulting.  We are very much looking forward to working with Dr Waterman and appreciate all the useful insight and advice that she has already provided.

About Soca Girls Rock!

Soca Girls Rock! aims to address the unique set of social and economic challenges that the Caribbean faces. These challenges include access to quality education and health care, high unemployment rates for youth and women, high poverty and crime rates, and income inequality. SGR! tackles these issues through its unique and innovative approach to leadership, activism, and civic engagement. They harness the collective time, talent, and treasure of self-identified Caribbean women, living in and outside of the Region, to provide technical and financial assistance to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) committed to social change.

 About Serrette Brown Research and Consulting

Serrette Brown Research and Consulting (SBRC) is a boutique research consulting practice specializing in epidemiology, population health research, program evaluation, evidence gap analyses, digital health and publications development strategy.

They partner with non-profits, non-government organizations (NGO), biopharmaceutical companies, health services research organizations and policy implementation agencies based in the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. SBRC staff have been the recipient of research awards and featured on national television.

More Information

If you have any questions about this project or would like any further information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us by email research@lakehealthandwellbeing.com

We’re delighted to announce that we have once again teamed up with Because We Care to host another women’s health event in St Kitts.

Girl Talk: Diabetes will focus on women and diabetes and will take place on Saturday 14th September. We’ll be having a panel of excellent speakers covering topics such as:

• An Introduction to Diabetes
• Diabetes and its Complication
• Living with Diabetes

We’ll also have a small wellness market featuring health, wellbeing and wellness brands, fantastic raffle prizes, free health checks, food and more!

More details to follow, so please stay tuned!

This event is the second event in this series. Our first event focused on fibroids and we had a great day learning more about fibroids and its impact on women. You can read about our previous event here

If you would like to join us for this event, you can register below and make the payment on the day ($90EC).

The information provided in the form below will enable us to contact you about the event regarding updates and important information. We will only use it for this purpose.

No Fields Found.

We look forward to seeing you on 14th September and if you have any questions, please email us or call 765 8702.

In May, the team behind the HENRY (Health, Exercise and Nutrition for the Really Young) project announced that as a result of their work, Leeds has become the first UK city to see a reduction in childhood obesity (although this has been disputed)

If this is true, this is a great achievement. As we’re embarking on a childhood obesity prevention project, we read this news with great interest because we wanted to identify the secret to HENRY’s success and what we can learn from this project as we enter this arena.

What is the HENRY Project?

The HENRY project started 10 years ago, in 2009, with the aim of giving babies and young children the best start possible. They achieve this by working with parents to provide them with the support and skills they require to improve their families’ overall health by focusing on:

• Nutrition;
• Emotional wellbeing;
• Exercise and physical activity;
• Parenting skills; and
• Breastfeeding

The programme offers workshops, programmes, resources and online help and one of their core services is their eight-week Healthy Families Programme. This programme covers five areas:

• Parenting confidence
• Physical activity for young children
• What children and families eat
• Family lifestyle habits
• Enjoying life as a family

What Has the HENRY Project Achieved?

The HENRY Project reported that over a four-year period they observed the following:

• An overall reduction in childhood obesity in Leeds from 9.4% to 8.8%
• A reduction in obesity in children from deprived backgrounds from 11.5% to 10.5%
• A reduction in obesity in children from affluent backgrounds from 6.8% to 6%
• The highest decline in childhood obesity in the four-year-old age group of 6.4%

What Can We Learn From This Project?

As we’re beginning to plan for our own childhood obesity pilot project, we are keen to understand what specifically led to HENRY’s success. Helpfully, the HENRY team have been very open about their project and have explained that some of their success can be attributed to the following:

• Focusing on early years – they based their work on the premise that it is more effective to target younger children when they are in the habit-forming stage of development. By intervening at this point, obesity interventions are more likely to have an impact with regards to preventing and reversing childhood obesity because of the focus on the period in a child’s life before their habits and food preferences have fully formed.
• Providing high quality, practical information and support to parents – in the HENRY project parents are not just simply given evidence-based healthy lifestyle information, they work closely with the HENRY team and form a close relationship; a relationship where parents are comfortable enough to explore what changes need to be made in their family’s lives and what is right and convenient for them. Parents are not told what to do but work with the HENRY team to develop a healthy lifestyle plan that works for them.
• Exploring parenting style – the project worked with parents to evaluate their parenting style and encouraged parents to use an authoritative rather than an authoritarian style. An authoritative style is where parents set clear rules and boundaries but respond to their children’s thoughts and opinions through open discussion and reasoning. This style also includes parents being affectionate, supportive and encouraging of independence. The HENRY project guided parents on how to implement this parenting style, which research has shown to be the most effective parenting style in terms of producing the best outcomes in children.

In Conclusion

The above points are very helpful in demonstrating that for any childhood obesity programme,  there are two important considerations: ensuring your programme targets children at the right age and that it engages parents in a meaningful way. As we begin our work in this area, we will bear this mind so that we give our project the best chance of succeeding.

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Sources

1. Four Parenting Styles – Characteristics and Effects by Parenting for Brain
2. What is Authoritative Parenting, With Examples by Parenting for Brain
3. Leeds Becomes the First UK City to Lower its Childhood Obesity Rate – The Guardian
4. My Organisation Helped Leeds Lower Child Obesity. Here’s How to Do it Nationwide – The Guardian

We would like to say a big thank you to everyone who supported our recent campaign where organisations from the Caribbean, UK, US and France joined forces to put the spotlight on fibroids.

We really appreciate all your emails, comments, retweets and shares which all helped us reach more and more women.

This is wonderful. We would love to get involved! Please shoot us an email at info@fibroidfighters.com.

— Fibroid Fighters (@FibroidFighter) June 24, 2019

This. Is. Major!

— DriedInk (@FictionConnect) June 24, 2019

Great #Awareness 👏 Presumed #fibroids could also be uterine #sarcoma #leiomyosarcoma as no preop test or imaging can differentiate. Good to be aware of differentiatial diagnosis especially if considering surgery as #morcellation can cause tissue dissemination & worsen prognosis

— Ant Martina B (@martina_ant79) June 25, 2019

Our campaign highlighted the need for a global change where all stakeholders are better informed about fibroids so they are empowered to take action to improve the health and wellbeing of the many women affected by this condition.

Specifically, we were calling for a greater level of awareness of:

• The symptoms of fibroids to facilitate an early and accurate diagnosis;
• All the treatment options available so that women can make an informed decision about the treatment that best suits their situation; and
• What actions women with fibroids can take to improve their physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing

If you missed our campaign, you can read about this joint effort here.

We’ll continue to work with our global partners to raise awareness and provide support to women who have been affected by fibroids. In the meantime, you can find out more about our fibroids information and support programme here.

Check out some tweets from some of our global partners and you can visit social media to read through all our posts during the campaign. And, if you have any questions or comments you can leave them in the comments box below or email us.

NEWS! We are proud to join @lakehealthwell @kmtrising @OHServices2018 @fibroidforum @FibromeInfoFr @NoireWellness @Endoandpcosbb & @DrSydneyjd in a new global campaign calling for a greater focus on #fibroids. Read: https://t.co/pkMniB5Ief #WomensHealth #FibroidAwarenessMonth pic.twitter.com/vJaCM7TNoX

— CAREAboutFibroids (@CAREAbtFibroids) June 24, 2019

Our Global Fibroid Campaign is here! We have teamed up with organisations across the world to spread awareness on #fibroids. Affecting over 150M women, it impacts one’s emotional and physical well-being. @lakehealthwell @kmtrising @FibromeInfoFr . Read https://t.co/sBFhtD3mF6

— OH Services (@OHServices2018) June 24, 2019

Uterine fibroids (also known as leiomyomas or myomas) are the most common form of benign uterine tumors.
Do you know the symptoms? Knowing them can help facilitate an early and accurate diagnosis. #fibroids #uterinefibroids#womenshealthmatters@lakehealthwell @JuliaMandeville pic.twitter.com/58hQnkNKQS

— Barbados Association of Endometriosis and PCOS (@Endoandpcosbb) June 25, 2019

For Immediate Release

24th June 2019

Organisations from the Caribbean, US, UK and France have joined forces to launch a global campaign calling for a greater focus on fibroids.

The campaign highlights the need for a global change where all stakeholders (healthcare professionals, women and their families) are better informed about fibroids so they are empowered to take action to improve the health and wellbeing of the many women affected by this condition.

Specifically, organisers are calling for a greater awareness of:

• The symptoms of fibroids to facilitate an early and accurate diagnosis;
• All the treatment options available so that women can make an informed decision about the treatment that best suits their situation; and
• What actions women with fibroids can take to improve both their physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing

Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or on the outer surface of the womb affecting an estimated 171 million women worldwide in 2013 and, in 2010, fibroids were estimated to cost the health sector in Europe €163 Million.^1,2

Despite being very common it has been shown that there is a low level of awareness of fibroids and women don’t feel equipped to make an informed decision about their treatment^3,6.

Studies have also shown that fibroids are more common in black women with an estimated 80% of black women being affected⁴. In addition, black women are known to develop fibroids at a younger age, are more likely to develop larger, multiple fibroids, and tend to develop more severe symptoms⁵.  The reason for this is unknown, but it is thought to be a combination of genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. Compounded experiences of racism and internalised racism are also seen to be contributory factors.

Fibroids tend to be overlooked because they are not life-threatening, but fibroids can significantly affect a woman’s quality of life leading to both physical and psychosocial effects.  It’s important that a greater focus is placed on fibroids to ensure that more research is conducted to fully understand this important women’s health issue, and to ensure that more support and information is available that empowers all women with fibroids.

Julia Mandeville, Public Health and Advocacy Manager, Barbados Association of Endometriosis and P.C.O.S explained that:

“Women’s health has not received the level of attention warranted. We stand now, as a collective, understanding that the gaps in women’s health care can lead to significant public health problems if left unaddressed. One such problem is the lack of awareness and education surrounding menstruation and menstrual health disorders which research has shown, negatively impacts the psychological, physical, social and financial wellbeing of those diagnosed with these conditions. Thus, it is critical that women and girls are equipped with relevant, evidence-based information to become more competent and confident advocates of their health, and obtain the resources and treatments needed to improve their health-related quality of life.”

Abi Begho, Founder of Lake Health and Wellbeing, based in St Kitts and Nevis said:

 “For too long women with fibroids have been neglected and it’s time for society to step up and address this. We need to ensure that women with fibroids have easy access to accurate information, appropriate support and a high standard of care to improve their wellbeing.”

Whilst Dr Sydney Dillard, Associate Professor at Du Paul University stated:

“Throughout the world fibroids tend to be trivialised without a real appreciation for the way fibroids can impact a women’s quality of life. The impact is wide-reaching affecting women’s physical health, mental wellbeing, relationships and creating challenges in the work environment. By everyone being better informed we can ensure early diagnosis; prompt, appropriate treatment and the chance to adequately address the psychosocial impact of fibroids.”

The organisers behind this campaign are encouraging women to access more information by visiting the campaign page and to contact the organisations in their region if they would like further support.

Ends

Notes to Editors

This is a joint campaign of the following organisations who raise awareness, provide information and support to those who have been affected by fibroids and advocate on behalf of women to improve the quality of care.

Barbados Association of Endometriosis and PCOS – The Barbados Association of Endometriosis and PCOS is a registered non-profit organization in Barbados which seeks to educate citizens and advocate for those who have Endometriosis, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and other pelvic conditions (including Uterine Fibroids).

Website: http://endoandpcosbb.com/

Email: julia.mandeville@endoandpcosbb.com

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CARE About Fibroids – CARE About Fibroids is a Washington, DC-based non-profit whose mission is to elevate uterine fibroids as a women’s health issue and drive change. Bringing together many of the nation’s most respected women’s health advocacy and policy-focused organizations to advance solutions, CARE About Fibroids is a catalyst for increased awareness, research and education about uterine fibroids, leading to earlier diagnosis and improved treatment.

Website: http://www.careaboutfibroids.org

Contact: http://www.careaboutfibroids.org/contact.html

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Fibroid Awareness Trinidad and Tobago – is a registered NGO based in Trinidad and Tobago that focuses on educating and empowering girls and women through advocacy and driving awareness on fibroids and other issues of the uterus.

Website: https://www.ttconfidenceproject.org/

Email address: factt2014@gmail.com

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Fibrome Info France – Fibrome Info France is the first patient association in France that informs, educates and supports women with uterine fibroids. The association was born out of the lack of information and awareness on this disease which affects 30 to 60% of women of childbearing age and is the main cause of removal of the uterus in France. Fibrome Info France has a triple mission:

• Information and awareness on uterine fibroids
• The support of women with fibroids in the care process
• The implementation of actions to improve the management of fibroids

Website http://fibrome-info-france.org/

Email address: contact@fibrome-info-france.org

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KMT Rising – KMT Rising is a UK-based organisation that is dedicated to the optimum health and wellness of all women around the globe; ensuring that their personal, emotional and health-related needs are catered for through a range of bespoke holistic packages. They also provide very unique Fibroid products on sale internationally:

• Fibroid Assessment Check List
• So you have Fibroids – Next steps guide
• Get yourself checked for Fibroids guide

Website: https://www.kmtrising.com/

Email address: kmtrisingltd@gmail.com

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Lake Health and Wellbeing – Lake Health and Wellbeing is based in St Kitts and Nevis and aims to improve the health and wellbeing of their local, regional and online community through health promotion, public health interventions, conducting research and offering information and support to those with concerns about their health. They have a fibroids information and support program which consists of events, publications, campaigns and more.

Website: www.lakehealthandwellbeing.com

Email address:  info@lakehealthandwellbeing.com

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Noire Wellness – Noire Wellness is a UK-based organisation that takes a public health and wellbeing approach to reducing health inequalities through culturally sensitive interventions

Website: www.noirewellness.com

Email address: info@noirewellness.com

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OH Counselling Services – OH Counselling Services is a UK-based organisation that provides one-to-one Counselling, EMDR Therapy, Group Therapies, Workshops and Seminars.   Their services are offered to adults, young people and all groups from different backgrounds and walks of life.

Website https://www.ohcounsellingservices.com

Email address: ohservices@counsellor.com

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The Fibroid Forum – The Fibroid Forum is UK-based and raises awareness, shares information, promotes women’s wellness and supports fibroid sufferers

Email address: thefibroidforum@gmail.com

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References

1. Theo, V., et al. (2015). Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet 386 (9995), pp. 743-800
2. Hunt, P., Sathyanarayana, S., Fowler, P. and Trasande, L. (2016). Female Reproductive Disorders, Diseases, and Costs of Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in the European Union. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 101(4), pp.1562-1570.
3. Lake Health and Wellbeing (formerly known as The Lake Foundation), (2014). Understanding the Needs of Women With Fibroids.
4. Wise, L. and Laughlin-Tommaso, S. (2016). Epidemiology of Uterine Fibroids. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, 59(1), pp.2-24.
5. Radmila S., et al.  (2016).  Epidemiology of Uterine Myomas: A Review. Int J Fertil Steril, Volume 9 (4), pp. 424.
6. All-Party Parliamentary Group of Women’s Health, (2017). Informed Choice? Giving Women Control of Their Healthcare.

On 1^st June 2019, we’ll be hosting a webinar on the emotional impact of fibroids, an issue that is often neglected, but we believe this is a very important area to focus on.

When many of us think about fibroids and its effects, we tend to think about the physical and medical symptoms, such as heavy menstrual bleeding, prolonged periods, abdominal pain, anaemia and back pain.  The emotional and psychological impact of fibroids is not at the forefront of women’s minds or even their doctor’s, but it is very important that this is addressed to ensure a complete recovery.

We first identified the importance of exploring the emotional impact of fibroids in 2014, when we conducted a survey to understand the needs of women with fibroids. As we were analysing the results of the survey, we noticed that a significant number of women were describing how living with fibroids was affecting their mental wellbeing. For example, women said the following:

 “I have hated life at times because of fibroids. I feel like I am being punished for something.”

“Depression from feeling that my only options were drugs or surgery”

“Fear of not being able to have children”

“Just a constant fear of what they could become”

As a result of this, we started to explore this issue further by speaking to women who attended our events and soon realised that this was a much wider problem. To compound this issue there was little information available, at the time, about the emotional impact of fibroids and no services to support women in addressing these issues.

We decided that going forward, the emotional and psychological impact of fibroids would be embedded in all our work. This would ensure that women are able to identify, understand and address the emotional impact of fibroids. We hope this will allow women to get help promptly and develop the resilience and skills required to improve their mental health, should it be affected by their experience with fibroids.

So far, we have organised two conferences aimed at women with fibroids, one in London and one in St Kitts, and both covered the emotional impact of fibroids. We worked with accredited counsellor Olivia Haltman to develop a fact sheet on this topic and we’ll soon be updating our fibroids booklet to include information on fibroids and women’s wellbeing. We were also delighted to see that Olivia Haltman has developed the first online course on the emotional impact of fibroids after our work together revealed this was much needed.

Our latest initiative is our webinar on 1^st June which will feature Olivia Haltman, founder of OH Services and Jo-Ann Hamilton, founder of Rare Birds.

In this webinar, Olivia will take attendees through how living with fibroids can affect a woman’s mental health and how women with fibroids can improve their emotional wellbeing.

We’re also honoured to have Jo-Ann Hamilton, the Founder of Rare Birds, sharing her 10-year experience with fibroids, how this experience affected her mental wellbeing and how she overcame this challenging journey.

If you’ve been affected by fibroids, you are very welcome to attend this webinar. register for this webinar here or if you have any questions, please email us at events@lakehealthandwellbeing.com

From 2^nd April to 7th May 2019, we facilitated our first chronic disease self-management course in St Kitts giving us the opportunity to support members in our community who have been affected by non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Data has demonstrated that NCDs are becoming an epidemic in St Kitts and Nevis with 83% of deaths in the Federation being due to these conditions. To prevent these premature deaths and ensure that those living with an NCD can live well and have a good quality of life, support, information and guidance are required.

Providing patients with self-management skills is an effective and empowering way to ensure that those affected by a chronic disease can take control and improve their health and wellbeing. The Chronic Disease Self-Management Course helps us achieve this outcome.

The course that we facilitated is part of the Stanford University Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP). This is an evidence-based prevention and health promotion program that addresses common issues faced by people with chronic conditions. The program has been implemented in 19 countries showing several benefits including:

• Improved wellbeing
• Improved health of participants
• Fewer hospitalisations
• Fewer days spent in hospital

Last year, we took part in the CDSMP training program which was delivered by the Ministry of Health in St Kitts. We were honoured to have come through the process and are now certified CDSMP facilitators allowing us to implement a free program of support for members in our community with an NCD.

Over the six-week period from the 2^nd April to 7^th May, we were delighted to guide our 18 participants through key self-management techniques. These techniques included action planning, problem-solving, decision making, medication management, communication skills, pain management, healthy eating, physical activity and more.

What we like about the course is that it is very interactive. Participants had the opportunity to take part in various activities, share their experiences, learn from one another and support each other. There was also homework every week to ensure that participants could start practising their self-management techniques immediately in their day-to-day life. It was wonderful to see and celebrate their successes every week.

We had a very engaged group who were a pleasure to work with. They got involved, asked questions and were keen to make the necessary changes in their lives to improve their health.

Facilitating this course has been one of the most rewarding experiences we have had in a long time. It was so touching to hear participants share how their lives have been impacted by the course. We look forward to seeing them continue to make great progress in taking control and more effectively managing their health.

A big thank you to everyone who attended and if you live in St Kitts and have been affected by a chronic illness like diabetes or high blood pressure and would like to attend a chronic disease self-management course, please do get in touch with us by email or call 765 8702

Our next 6-week course is due to start in July, all are welcome to attend.

“Thank you for the life lessons you have shared. Anyone who attends this course will never be the same again. The teachings will always be on one’s mind and heart. We must make a change! Eating, exercising and managing our lives better and being in control, this is an awesome feeling” – CDSMP Course Attendee