It's proven that increased loneliness can cause poorer clinical outcomes in those with chronic conditions. Social isolation is known to cause an increased risk of dementia, heart disease and stroke, as well as poor mental health.
At talkhealth, we know that a cup of tea can't solve everything but we do believe it can get you on your way to a better day. That's why we launched our digital coffee mornings earlier this year. Every Friday, the talkhealth team meet our members on Zoom to have a chat about a certain health topic.
Each session lasts around 30 to 45 minutes and allows us to meet, discuss and share our thoughts with other people who are affected by chronic health conditions. We are delighted to see these events getting busier and busier as our regular members spread the word.
The calls cover a range of topics from pain management to exercise and movement. We always try to make sure that the topics are accessible as possible for those attending so that our members can learn from one another.
By creating a space for our members to have open conversations around healthcare, those attending often share their actionable advice for navigating life with a chronic condition. We recently had a great chat about the importance of patient advocacy, those attending signposted and recommended the services that they had benefitted from. This session was just one example of a talkhealth event empowering people to take their health into their own hands!
On the last Friday of every month, we invite a healthcare professional to join us. This allows our community to gain expert advice and tips from someone at the forefront of their specialism. So far, we have been joined by a specialist continence nurse from Bladder Health UK and Dr Cheryl Rezek, a consultant clinical psychologist.
The coffee mornings have quickly become an important point of contact for many of our members who often tell us how useful and mood-boosting they find them. It's an easy way for the people in our community to nurture friendships - something that makes living with a chronic condition a little easier.
New faces are always welcome. To make sure that it is as easy as possible for people to attend, we have created a simple link that our members can follow to sign up for specific dates. Once signed up, they receive a reminder email which also walks them through how to 'zoom in' to the meeting.
This feature is only open to talkhealth+ members but we are offering free upgrades to non-paying members to ensure that they get the most out of our platform this lockdown.
If you think your patients could benefit from a weekly chat with like-minded talkhealth members, why not point them in our direction? Together we can combat loneliness.