Heart health champions: how to develop student nurses as role models for cardiovascular health

Background Nurses as health promotors are optimally placed to identify cardiovascular disease risk factors and discuss behaviour change strategies for modifiable risk factors, but most undergraduate curriculums lack detailed content regarding these topics. Unfortunately evidence indicates that student nurses often demonstrate risky behaviours such as smoking, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol consumption and poor nutritional choices. As nursing is a pressurised career with long shifts and often challenging emotional encounters, it can be easy to overlook personal health behaviours. Purpose Given that nursing students are our potential health promotors of the future, we aimed to enhance cardiovascular knowledge and behaviour change awareness in their undergraduate education by implementing a co-designed digital educational resource - ASMOSUS. It sought to embed knowledge and risk assessment of cardiovascular disease risk factors, while motivating and sustaining behaviour change within undergraduates, facilitating them to make healthier lifestyle choices themselves and act as role models for patients. We developed roles of ‘Heart Health Champions’ within university and clinical placements, which is novel for both clinical practice and Higher Education Institutes. Methods Any nursing student who had received the ASMOSUS digital educational resource in the first semester of their undergraduate program and had an interest in further knowledge acquisition and health promotion amongst their peers were invited to become a Heart Health Champion. Alongside the recruitment of Heart Health Champions the cohort received cardiovascular risk factor specific educational sessions on physical exercise, smoking and vaping cessation, nutrition and alcohol consumption. Results We recruited 9 Heart Health Champions from the cohort representing all fields of undergraduate nursing. These students have undertaken 30 hours of required participation, leading to a university recognised qualification- FutureReady on graduation. This included attending cardiac risk and prevention training with cardiac rehabilitation nurses. They have taken the initiative to plan activities such as a sponsored walk, a ‘dancercise' class and support for their peers in harnessing healthy lifestyle behaviours through role modelling and motivational interviewing techniques. Results demonstrate that these sessions and student led activities are well attended and positively evaluated, which shows that including cardiovascular prevention techniques in undergraduates is feasible and acceptable. Conclusion Heart Health Champions are a valuable asset and can promote modifiable risk factor change amongst their peers and may help to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Further Heart Health Champions will be recruited over the next undergraduate nursing cohorts with a planned study to explore their effectiveness.