The Healthcare Passport Study

'The Healthcare Passport Study' is a new research project being carried out by the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen's University Belfast. Dr Peter O'Halloran is the lead investigator and received funding for the project from Marie Curie.

What do we want to find out?

We would like to find out how useful a patient-held record called 'My Healthcare Passport' is to young people aged 16 - 24 years old with a life-limiting condition.

Why are we doing this research?

Young people and their families often have to repeat their story over and over again to different healthcare professionals involved in their care and have reported that communication can often be difficult. It has been suggested that patient-held records such as 'My Healthcare Passport' might help overcome these challenges.

What is a patient-held record?

A patient-held record is a tool to help patients organise information about their own health condition. It is different to a medical record which a doctor or nurse uses as it belongs to the patient and is something they can carry with them.

What is 'My Healthcare Passport'?

It is a patient-held record designed to help people keep a clear record of all the elements of their condition and care, make it easier for them to share key information with people they get support from, and to help them manage all the information they receive from different health and social care professionals involved in their care.

‘My Healthcare Passport’ belongs to the patient. They can use it to record details about their family, friends, healthcare contacts, medical condition, medications, and level of independence. There is also a special section for advance care planning. People are free to choose which sections they write in and who they share the recorded information with.

What will the study involve?

We will ask young people to use 'My Healthcare Passport' for nine months and interview them about their experiences. We will also interview some family members and servcie providers to find out their views of the passport.

If you would like to read more about ‘My Healthcare Passport’ please select this link.

You can also watch a video about the passport if you select this link.