Better Choices, Better Health

An Evidence-Based Practice

Description

Better Choices, Better HealthTM is an online chronic disease self-management program. Facilitated by two trained facilitators, one or both of whom have a chronic condition themselves, groups of about 25 participants interact with each other through internal messaging and online discussion boards. Participants provide mutual support as they cover topics including techniques to deal with pain and frustration, appropriate exercise and diet, medication use, and treatment decisions. Throughout the 6-week workshop, participants log on at their convenience 2-3 times each week for about 2 hours. Better Choices, Better HealthTM is designed to enhance regular treatment and disease-specific education. The program has been licensed by the National Council on Aging, which is currently running a one-year national pilot, as well as online programs specific to diabetes and arthritis.

Goal / Mission

Better Choices, Better HealthTM gives people with chronic conditions the skills to coordinate all the things needed to manage their heath, as well as to help them keep active in their lives.

Results / Accomplishments

In a randomized intervention of 958 patients with heart disease, lung disease, or type 2 diabetes, those that participated in the online intervention had significant improvements in health statuses compared with usual care control patients. The study measured health status, health care utilitization, self-efficacy and self-management behaviors over a 12-month period with three online questionnaires. The effects of the intervention have been found to be similar to those of the community-based Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, on which Better Choices, Better HealthTM was modeled.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
National Council on Aging
Primary Contact
info@selfmanage.org
http://www.ncoa.org/improve-health/chronic-conditi...
Topics
Health / Other Conditions
Health / Older Adults
Organization(s)
National Council on Aging
Source
Stanford School of Medicine
Date of publication
2006
Date of implementation
2002
Location
USA
For more details
http://patienteducation.stanford.edu/internet/heal...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17063127
Target Audience
Adults, Older Adults

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An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.
  3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.