Research & Additional Information
On this page, you will find information about the following topics:
Evidence and Research Base
The Chronic Disease Self-Management Programme is an evidence based programme consisting of weekly workshops for two and a half hours over six weeks. Held in community settings such as senior centres, churches, and community centres, people with different chronic health problems attend together. The workshops are facilitated by two trained leaders, one or both of whom are non-health professionals with a chronic disease themselves.
This course is now used in over 25 countries and has been translated and modified for numerous population groups including high needs populations. It forms the basis of the Expert Patient Programme in the United Kingdom and is also used extensively throughout Australia and Canada. It also has various names and has been available in NZ as the ‘Living a Healthier Life’ course through Arthritis NZ for the last 5 years.
Some of the subjects covered include techniques to deal with common problems such as frustration, fatigue, pain and isolation, appropriate use of medications, developing healthy lifestyles, how to communicate effectively with family, health professionals, and how to utilise community resources and remain self sufficient. What makes this course different and most effective is the process in which the programme is taught. Classes are highly participative, and the mutual support and weekly practice build the participants’ confidence in their ability to manage their health and maintain active and fulfilling lives.
Research has shown that traditional health education is relatively ineffective at promoting behaviour change. Self management education, the basis of this course, teaches people generic skills such as problem solving, goal setting, action planning and decision making and such skills lead to not only improved physical wellbeing, but also improves emotional and social wellbeing of participants.
In the UK, the CDSM course has been useful in multiple settings including multi-ethnic inner city populations, the elderly, carers and people with mental health problems. After extensive evaluation and ongoing research it was adopted as the basis of their Expert Patient Programme and is considered an essential component of the restructuring of the National Health Service to improve care for people with chronic conditions. Several studies have also been completed in Hispanic communities with very high rates of poverty, diabetes and heart disease. Similar findings have been found with significant reductions in hospitalisations, ED visits and improvement in diabetes control.
To read about more programmes under research at Stanford Patient Education Research Centre, visit their website.
Additional Links
Stanford Patient Education Centre
Stanford University website focusing on the Chronic Disease Self Management Programme. Extensive range of resources, tools, information and research.
Expert Patient Programme
In the UK, the CDSMP has been introduced and rolled out across the country as the Expert Patient Programme.
They now also have a number of different programmes ranging from a focus on mental health through to carers and teenagers with chronic illnesses.
Visit their website for a range of videos, stories and useful information.
Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions
Appealing Canadian website with range of information about the Stanford CDSMP programme in Ontario. Canada also has an online version available to Canadian residents.
Bibliography
Books
1. Lorig K, Holman HR, Sobel D, Laurent D, González V, Minor M: Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions (3rd Edition). Boulder CO: Bull Publishing, 2006. (Available in several languages)
2. Lorig K, Fries JF: The Arthritis Helpbook (6th Edition). Cambridge MA: Da Capo Press, 2006.
3. González V, Nacif de Brey V, Lorig K, Fries JF: Cómo convivir con su Artritis (Segunda Edición). Boulder CO: Bull Publishing, 2006.
4. Gifford AL, Lorig K, Laurent D, González V: Living Well with HIV and AIDS (3rd Edition). Boulder CO: Bull Publishing, 2005.
5. NHS Expert Partners Programme. Self-management of Long-term Health Conditions: A Handbook for People with Chronic Disease. Bull Publishing, 2002. (Adaptation of Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions for the National Health Service, United Kingdom)
6. Lorig K: Patient Education: A Practical Approach (3rd Edition). Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications, 2001.
7. Moore JE, Lorig K, Von Korff M, González VM, Laurent DD. The Back Pain Helpbook. Cambridge MA: Perseus Books, 1999.
8. Lorig K, Stewart A, Ritter P, González V, Laurent D, Lynch J: Outcome Measures for Health Education and other Health Care Interventions. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications, 1996.
Published Articles
1. Goeppinger J, Lorig KR, Ritter PL, Mutatkar S, Villa F, Gizlice Z. Mail-delivered arthritis self-management tool kit: A randomized trial and longitudinal followup. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 61(7):867-875, 2009.
2. Case SM, Jernigan VBBJ, Gardner AL, Ritter PL, Heaney CA, Lorig KR. Content and Frequency of Writing on Diabetes Bulletin Boards: Does Race Make a Difference?. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 11(2):e22, 2009.
3. Richardson G, Kennedy A, Reeves D, Bower P, Lee V, Middleton E, Gardner C, Gately C and Rogers A. Cost Effectiveness of the Expert Patients Programme (EPP) for Patients with Chronic Conditions. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 62:361-367, 2008.
4. Gordon C and GallowayT. Review of Findings on Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) Outcomes: Physical, Emotional & Health-Related Quality of Life, Healthcare Utilization and Costs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevenention and National Council on Aging, 2008.
5.Lorig KR, Ritter PL, Laurent DD, Plant K. The Internet-based Arthritis Self-Management Program: A One-year Randomized Trial for Patientes with Arthritis or Fibromyalgia. Arthritis Care and Research, 59(7):1009-17, 2008.
6.Lorig KR, Ritter PL, Dost A, Plant K, Laurent DD, McNeil I. The expert patients programme online, a 1-year study of an Internet-based self-management programme for people with long-term conditions. Chronic Illness, 4(4): 247-256, 2008.
7. Lorig K, Ritter PL, Villa F, Piette JD. Spanish Diabetes Self-Management With and Without Automated Telephone Reinforcement. Diabetes Care, 31(3):408-14, 2008.
8. Bruce B, Lorig K, Laurent D. Participation in patient self-management programs. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 57(5):851-854, 2007.
9. Osborne RH, Wilson T, Lorig KR, McColl GJ. Does self-management lead to sustainable health benefits in people with arthritis? A 2-year transition study of 452 Australians. Journal of Rheumatology, 34(5):1112-7, 2007. View Abstract
10. Nolte S, Elsworth GR, Sinclair AJ, Osborne RH. The extent and breadth of benefits from participating in chronic disease self-management courses: A national patient-reported outcomes survey. Patient Education and Counseling, 65(3):351-60, 2007.
11. Kennedy A, Reeves D, Bower P, Lee V, Middleton E, Richardson G, Gardner C, Gately C, Rogers A. The Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of a National Lay-led Self Care Support Programme for Patients with Long-term Conditions: A Pragmatice Randomised Controlled Trial. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 61(3), 254-61, 2007.
12. Siu AM, Chan CC, Poon PK, Chui DY, Chan SC. Evaluation of the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program in a Chinese Population. Patient Education and Counseling, 65, 42-50, 2007.
13. Lorig KR, Ritter PL, Laurent DD, Plant K. Internet-Based Chronic Disease Self-Management: A Randomized Trial. Medical Care, 44(11), 964-71, 2006.
14. Swerissen H, Belfrage J, Weeks A, Jordan L, Walker C, Furler J, McAvoy B, Carter M, Peterson, C. A Randomised Control Trial of a Self-Management Program for People with a Chronic Illness from Vietnamese, Chinese, Italian and Greek Backgrounds. Patient Education and Counseling, 64:360-368, 2006.
15. Dongbo F, Ding Y, McGowan P, Fu H. Qualitative Evaluation of Chronic Disease Self Management Program (CDSMP) in Shanghai. Patient Education and Counseling, 61(3), 389-96, 2006.
16. Griffiths C, Motlib J, Azad A, Ramsay J, Eldridge S, Feder G, Khanam R, Munni R, Garrett M, Turner A, Barlow J. Randomised Controlled Trial of a Lay-led Self-management Programme for Bangladeshi Patients with Chronic Disease. British Journal of General Practice, Nov;55(520):831-7, 2005.
17. Lorig KR, Ritter PL, Jacquez A. Outcomes of Border Health Spanish/English Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs. Diabetes Educator, 31(3), 401-9, 2005.
18. Yoo H, Park JW. A Chronic Disease Self-Management Program for the Elderly in Korea. Journal of Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing, 16(4):264-274, 2005. (in Korean with English tables and abstract)
For papers published before 2005, view Stanford Patient Education Research Centre