Empowering Elders to Age Gracefully
Research at Stanford University confirms the ability for self-management techniques to empower elders when dealing with chronic illness. The U.S. population of senior citizens is expected to reach 72 million in 2030, double what it was in 2000. While eighty percent of seniors suffer from chronic illness, fifty percent cope with two illnesses or more. This alarming rate of disease translates into significant costs to the health care system. Physicians previously provided few options other than pharmaceutical drugs to alleviate the myriad of ailments affecting seniors including chronic pain, decreased mobility, and loss of motor functions. Today, the integrative medicine movement offers seniors additional options that are ecologically sustainable – emphasizing safety, precaution, and prevention in care.
A Stanford University study researching self-management of chronic disease (Lorig et al. 1999) found that when patients institute small changes in their routine—such as adding exercise –they reap immediate benefits that can include less fatigue and improved overall well-being. This study demonstrated $750 in savings per patient due to fewer hospitalizations and fewer overnight stays. This launched the “Stanford Model” of self-management care, which advocates self-directed behavioral and educational interventions.
This self-care model advocates an active lifestyle that increases satisfaction in daily life. The model is particularly compelling since the course instructors are dealing with chronic illness themselves. Mike Bowen, who has arthritis, teaches a self-management course at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco. Bowen explains how the skills gained empower clients to “take control of what's going on and have more say about [their] situation”.
The core component of this program is relaxation techniques that educate patients to visually scan and understand their bodies. For example, seniors learn to reduce sudden movements that may aggravate conditions of debilitating diseases such as arthritis. This model also educates seniors about diet, exercise, and stress reduction and coping skills.
By prescribing prevention-based care to the growing elderly population, the medical system can reduce the economic stresses related to patient dependence on high-tech health care. The integration of self-management models nationwide suggests an opportunity to promote health, wellbeing, and longevity for our elders. This model represents an effective, affordable, and non-polluting system of care that is ecologically sustainable -- Medicine that is good for people and the planet!
To read the original article visit the San Francisco Chronicle at:
www.sfgate.com
Please visit Self-management program - Stanford Medical School
http://patienteducation.stanford.edu/programs
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To learn more about Providing Sustainable Medical Care, contact Teleosis and ask about the Green Health Care Program at 510-558-7285, or Bonita Ford at
bonita@teleosis.org
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