Self-Management in the Highlands Frequently Asked Questions for Health and Allied Professionals
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- Self-management courses are based on research from the US and UK. It is an evidence-based intervention that has been rigorously tried and tested. The course has been shown to be effective in helping to both improve quality of life and positively aid health services as a whole.
- Self-management courses known as Expert Patients Programme (EPP) are being mainstreamed throughout the NHS in Wales and England.
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Who is self-management aimed at? |
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- Future potential developments include expansion into areas such as carers, ethnic minorities, mental health, people with learning difficulties, children and parents
- Courses are delivered in local communities, targeting all members of society.
- There is also the potential to develop a web-based version of the course to improve access in rural remote rural areas.
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What is the rationale behind self-management? |
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- Life expectancy has increased by 30 years over the last century. As life expectancy continues to lengthen, the incidence of long-term conditions will rise.
- Living with a long-term condition/s can often mean physical and psychological difficulties for individuals and their families, as well as socio-economic problems, reduced quality of life and sometimes social exclusion.
- Self-management can be a key tool to develop a population who are better informed about what services they can expect, what their responsibilities are and what they can do for themselves.
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Is self-management a new initiative? |
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Self-management programmes have been running in the USA since the 1970s. Much of the research and development on self-management has been carried out by Professor Kate Lorig and her team at the Medical Research Centre, Stanford University, California, USA
- 1999 – In England an Expert Patients Task Force, chaired by the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Liam Donaldson, was set up to review self-management opportunities. Membership included representatives of the medical profession, non-governmental organisations and experts in the fields of self-management training and research
- 2001 – The final report "The Expert Patients Programme – a new approach to chronic disease management for the 21st Century" led to the implementation of a 2 year EPP pilot project to introduce generic lay-led self-management programmes hosted in Primary Care Trusts throughout England
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2003 - In Wales two EPP pilot sites were established in Gwynedd and Swansea Local Health Boards (LHBs)
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2004 - Lessons learned from the evaluation of the pilot sites and elsewhere were used to roll-out EPP into other LHBs
- 2007 – Expert Patients Programme in England established as a Community Interest Company (CIC)
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Who or what are Partnerships for Wellbeing? |
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- Partnerships for Wellbeing is a Highlands charity whose aim is ‘Supporting individuals and communities to achieve a balanced lifestyle that fits the life they lead’. It is a company limited by guarantee and a registered Scottish charity: SC036055
- Partnerships for Wellbeing has received support from NHS Highland to deliver a pilot lay-led self-management programme for the Highlands during 2007 and the first half of 2008. It runs a number of successful projects including patient transport, Step It Up Highland walking groups and Food First, an Inverness based healthy eating initiative.
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Its aims for the pilot are:
- Recruit and train 12 volunteer ‘leaders’
- Deliver a total of 12 lay-led self-management courses between Autumn 2007 and late Spring / early Summer 2008
- Reach 120 to 200 course participants
- Cover 3 CHPs – North, Mid and South & East Highland
- Review and evaluate feedback
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What is lay-led self-management? |
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- Developing people’s confidence and skills (e.g. problem solving and decision making) to take control of the daily management of their illness
- Achieving the greatest possible quality of life by working with professionals to make the best use of available resources
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What happens when the course finishes? |
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- The courses are delivered by two trained lay ‘leaders’, who have experience of making life changes because of living with a long-term condition/s
- The delivery is from a scripted course manual
- Self-management delivery is underpinned by a detailed and strict quality assurance framework
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How many people are on each course? |
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- Ideally each course has between 10-16 participants
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- There are many advantages to running courses for people with a mix of different conditions
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How can it be effective if it’s not disease specific? |
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- People with long-term conditions must deal not only with their symptoms but also with the impact these have on their lives and emotions
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What are the benefits to patients? |
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A renewal of confidence in managing their lives despite long-term conditions
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A better relationship with their healthcare professionals
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Learning useful techniques that can help daily living – helping people take active control
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Increased use of health promoting techniques e.g. taking regular exercise and relaxation
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A loss of fear for the future
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A better knowledge and understanding of their symptoms
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Help to regain control over their physical and emotional well-being
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Development of a friendship support network
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Slowing of physical deterioration and improvements of psychological state
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Does it undermine the advice given by health professionals? |
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- Self-management courses are designed to enhance regular treatment and disease specific patient teaching and education programmes delivered by health professionals
- 'Working in partnership with your healthcare professional’ is one of the activities covered on the course
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Will it increase my workload as a healthcare professional? |
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- The National Evaluation of the Expert Patients Programme in England has not shown any adverse impacts on workload.
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Is the aim of the programme just to save money for the NHS? |
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No. The prime objective is to provide people living with a long-term condition, who want to gain a greater measure of control over their lives, the means to do so. People living with long-term conditions are often in the best position to know what they need to manage their own condition
- Providing people with the necessary self-management skills can enable them to make a tangible impact on the quality of their lives
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How will self-management be of benefit to health professionals? |
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- Improved relationships with patients
- Patients who have improved quality of life
- Development of patient networks – patients who can support other individuals who are developing similar conditions
- Better use by patients of recommended medications and treatments
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Do you want more details? |
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- Partnerships for Wellbeing, 3 Gordon Terrace, Inverness, IV2 3HD
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