We are delighted to announce that Fighting Fatigue and Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Navigating Your Way to Recovery have been placed on the Reading Well scheme for long term conditions.
If the pen is mightier than the sword, perhaps the book is mightier than the drug.
These stirring words from Professor Martin Marshall at the 2017 Reading Well launch really summed up the miraculous effect that books have on us.
Bibliotherapy – the use of books and reading to facilitate management of and recovery from illness – is not a new concept, but it has found increased recognition in recent years thanks in part to the Reading Well scheme.
Reading Well for long term conditions is a scheme launched by The Reading Agency and the Society of Chief Librarians (UKSCL) as part of its successful Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme. It has been developed with leading health organisations and people with lived experience and their carers, and is available in UK public libraries from July 2017.
It brings us great joy that not just one but TWO of our books are on the list:
Fighting Fatigue (Sue Pemberton, Catherine Berry & Janie Spencer)
Chronic fatigue syndrome, or myalgic encephalitis, (CFS/ME) affects approximately 180,000 people in the UK. This practical manual is jointly written by health professionals and their patients. They give straightforward and specific expert advice, accompanied by real life stories, on managing different aspects of everyday life that can affect energy and they show how to put this advice into practice. Unlike other available books, this does not cover causes, symptoms or the controversy around whether the condition is real – it’s purely about how to get better. It is for patients who have been diagnosed with CFS/ME and for their carers. It is also highly relevant to health professionals wanting to provide their patients with self-help strategies that are compatible with the current evidence base. Anyone suffering ongoing, abnormal fatigue will likewise find it a must read.
With symptoms that range from merely annoying to completely debilitating, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is compromising the lives of many thousands of people who suffer in silence with symptoms that can be acutely embarrassing and completely unpredictable. Dr Megan Arroll and Professor Christine Dancey, co-founder of the IBS Network, bring together all aspects of current understanding of the condition in this comprehensive but accessible account, including the latest on medical, nutritional and psychological approaches to treatment and a chapter to share with family and friends so that they can understand what IBS really is and what they can do to support those who have it. As former IBS sufferers themselves, as well as researchers in this field, this book provides true insider’s insight.
Reading Well for long term conditions
There’s a huge need for quality health information and advice supporting people to understand and manage the symptoms of living with a long term condition. Over 26 million people in England reportedly have at least one long term condition (NHS England). Reading Well is a cost-effective way of delivering community-based help and support for people living with them.
The booklist of 28 titles covers specific conditions including diabetes, stroke and asthma, as well as common symptoms including pain and fatigue. It also features a number of titles covering general information and advice on living well with a long term condition and support for family and carers.
The titles will be available for anyone to borrow for free from their local public library. Health professionals offering support to people with long term conditions can use the scheme to recommend helpful reading to their patients.
Fighting Fatigue is available here.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Navigating Your Way to Recovery is available here.
Please share this blog to raise awareness of Health Information Week 2017 #HIW2017
