The Blue Card : a hand-held health record card for mental health consumers with comorbid physical health risk

Objective: We aimed to determine the effectiveness of a hand-held record (the 'Blue Card') for seriously mentally ill consumers by investigating effects on consumer knowledge of physical health risk factors, consumer involvement in care and communication with healthcare professionals. Method: Consumers were given and educated in the use of the Blue Card, which contained information regarding their physical health. Consumers completed a pre- and post-knowledge questionnaire and commented on the effectiveness of the Blue Card with respect to their knowledge of physical health risks. Results: Statistically significant improvements in consumer knowledge were shown at the 3-month follow-up, with high retention of the Blue Card being demonstrated. Consumers that used the card described their use of the card positively. Conclusions: The results are very encouraging. Further studies of this low-cost intervention are warranted to establish its effectiveness and utility.