Organisation has membership of more than 1000 health and exercise professionals across the UK
Date posted
18 October 2019
14:23
An Edinburgh Napier professor has been appointed as president of a leading UK association that promotes excellence in cardiovascular disease prevention and rehabilitation.
Professor Susan Dawkes from the University’s School of Health and Social Care has recently taken up the position within the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation (BACPR). 
With more than 1000 members across the UK from a variety of health and exercise backgrounds, the BACPR’s main aim is to support health professionals in the development, delivery and assessment of evidence-based, individualised programmes of prevention and rehabilitation for individuals with established Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) and those with significant CVD risk factors.
It also offers a host of other benefits to its members including continued professional development courses, an annual conference alongside hosting a research hub.
On being appointed president of the Association, Professor Dawkes said: “The Scottish and UK governments have challenged the cardiac rehabilitation community by setting stretching targets for cardiac rehabilitation participation and completion and so practice must change to meet the increasingly complex needs of patients and their families.
“Innovative changes to service design and delivery are already taking place in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK and I am delighted to lead this Association during a period where there is a real emphasis on enhancing the outcomes of patients’ cardiovascular health.”
Alongside teaching students at Edinburgh Napier’s Sighthill campus, Professor Dawkes is heavily involved with the University’s transnational education programmes and leads a module on health assessment in its BSc Nursing programme in Singapore.
She is also an honorary research consultant for the cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation teams at NHS Lothian where she supports clinical healthcare professionals in their research and service evaluation and improvement.
More information on the British Association for Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation can be found here.