A new free online course has been launched to help community healthcare professionals to better support people with liver disease and risk factors for liver disease.
Liver Smart responds to growing prevalence of liver disease nationally, which disproportionately affects people experiencing poverty and marginalised groups. These groups can also face significant barriers to timely healthcare.
With funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration Kent, Surrey and Sussex (ARC KSS), Katherine Pitt, a General Practitioner in homeless and inclusion healthcare, worked with Common Ambition to recruit people with lived experience of liver disease to co-design the module. The module has been hosted on the FairHealth website, a charity which produces educational resources for clinicians working in areas of deprivation.
Despite facing significant challenges, the people with lived experience of liver disease who co-designed the module had all found ways to improve their liver health and wanted to give people hope.
The course also benefited from feedback from experts in inclusion healthcare, hepatology and palliative care.
The course covers
- Risk factors, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, alcohol use and hepatitis C.
- Investigating liver health and recognising signs and symptoms.
- Prescribing, preventing complications and screening.
- Patient information, supportive care and palliative care.
Learners can also access research evidence, clinical guidance and further resources to support their practice.
You can access Liver Smart for free here:
