For people with heart disease, poor mental health is related to worse health outcomes, including increased risk of future cardiac events, readmission to hospital, increased mortality, and lower quality of life. These patients also face increased barriers to care and feel that their mental health needs are often unmet within the current healthcare system.

This project aims to address this by exploring patient needs through group modelling techniques and using the experienced-based co-design framework to co-design a lifestyle intervention tailored towards patients’ mental health needs following a heart event. The data generated in this study will be used to seek category-one funding to develop this intervention and assess its feasibility.

To date, two 1.5-hour co-design workshops have been conducted using Deakin University’s STICKE software, involving 12 participants. Participants were invited to reflect on their experiences and identify priority areas for future intervention.

Participants described how supporting mental health post-cardiac events is a multifaceted challenge requiring a comprehensive community-level intervention, particularly in the initial weeks post-hospitalisation. The insights gained from these workshops will inform the co-design of an intervention aimed at increasing health literacy and knowledge around mental health following a cardiovascular event.

Dr Sarah Gauci (SOLVE CHD Postdoctoral Researcher) secured funding for this project through Deakin University’s Faculty of Health Research Capacity Building Grant Scheme (HAtCH).