Patient Education– In the Department of Medicine

Internet Self-Management Programs

RELATED INFORMATION

Launch your Digital Self-Management Program! Canary Health can deliver digital health self-management programs to your populations. To learn more, email info@canaryhealth.com. Canary Health has licensed all online Stanford Self-Management Programs.

Self-Management @ Stanford is the Internet arm of our self-management programs. We entered the online world in 1998, attempting to learn if the sharing and support that is key to the success of our community-based programs could be transfered to the online community. Since then, we have received funding for 5 randomized, controlled research projects on the Internet.

The Back Pain Internet Education Program

Our first patient education program on the internet was the Back Pain Internet Education Program,which was developed to determine the effectiveness of a moderated Internet discussion group in improving health status and health care utilization. The study concluded in 2000.

Participants with recurring back pain were randomized to take part in an email list where all members received the posts of all other members, or a control group that received a popular magazine subscription. People in the email group also received a copy of The Back Pain Helpbook.* The group was moderated by a physican, a physical therapist, a psychologist, and 2 health educators. The moderators, however, did not lead the discussions. Discussions were participant-driven, and no subject was off-limits.

At one year, 69% of the email group demonstrated less disability, worry about thier health, and interference in their daily activities. They also had increased confidence to manage their symptoms, and increased orientation toward self-care. There was also a trend toward fewer back related visits to physicians.**      

 Download PDF article

Healthier Living With Ongoing Health Problems or
Better Choices, Better Health®
(Internet Chronic Disease Self-Management Program)

The Healthier Living With Ongoing Health Problems Program is the Internet version of the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program. It shares the same content and a similar structure. Study participants with heart disease, lung disease, and type 2 diabetes take the online workshop together, along with 2 moderators. Subsequent studies of the program in the U.K., Canada and Australia included all chronic conditions.

This study is complete, as well as the studies in the U.K., Canada and Australia. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has licensed the program as Better Choices, Better Health®. Contact BetterChoices@selfmanage.org for more information.

Healthier Living With Diabetes or
Better Choices, Better Health® - Diabetes
(Internet Diabetes Self-Management Program)

The Healthier Living With Diabetes Program is also based on the Healthier Living With Ongoing Health Problems model. Participants with type II diabetes participating in the online workshop and study. The successful study concluded in 2009. Also included in this study was a sub-study of 110 Native Americans.

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has licensed the program. Contact diabetes@selfmanage.org for more information.

The Cancer: Thriving and Surviving Program

The Cancer: Thriving and Surviving Internet program for cancer survivors was developed and evaluated in a one-year randomized trial in partnership with the University of Hawai'i. The study concluded in 2012.

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has licensed the program. Contact cancer@selfmanage.org for more information.

Healthier Living With Arthritis or
Better Choices, Better Health®- Arthritis
(Internet Arthritis Self-Management Program)

The Healthier Living With Arthritis Program is the Internet version of the Arthritis Self-Management (Self-Help) Program. Based on the Healthier Living With Ongoing Health Problems model, it was also a randomized, controlled research project. The study of the online workshop for people with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia was completed in 2007.

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has licensed the program. Contact arthritis@selfmanage.org for more information.

Building Better Caregivers

The Buiding Better Caregivers program was developed and pilot tested within the United States Department of Veteran Affairs in California, Southern Nevada, and Hawaii for family members and informal caregivers who take care of veterans, or are veterans, with tramatic brain injury (TBI), post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), dementia, or diagnosed memory impairment. The online program, using a similar model as the Internet CDSMP, is six weeks. The successful pilot study was completed in 2010.

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) has licensed the program. Contact va@buildingbettercaregivers.org for more information.

Online Questionnaire Study

This study was about the quality of data collected via the Internet. We compared questionnaires collected online to questionnaires collected by US Mail. Participants simply filled out one questionnaire by one of the two methods. We completed this study in 2004, and results are published in the Journal of Internet Medical Research***.

 

*The Back Pain Helpbook, by James Moore, Kate Lorig, Michael Von Korff, Virginia González, and Diana Laurent. Perseus Books, 1999.

**Results reported in: Lorig KR, Laurent DD, Deyo RA, Marnell ME, Minor MA, Ritter PL. Can a Back Pain E-mail Discussion Group Improve Health Status and Lower Health Care Costs? A Randomized Study. Archives of Internal Medicine, 162: 792-796, 2002. Download PDF article

***Ritter P, Lorig K, Laurent D, Matthews K. Internet Versus Mailed Questionnaires: A Randomized Comparison. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 15;6(3):e29, 2004. View Article

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