The patient’s voice: an exploratory study of the impact of a group self-management support program

摘要

BackgroundGiven the potential value of self-management support programs for people with chronic diseases, it is vital to understand how they influence participants’ health attitudes and behaviours. The Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP), the most well-known and widely studied such program, is funded in many provinces and jurisdictions throughout Canada. However, there is little published evidence on its impact in the Canadian health-care system. We studied participants’ reactions and perceived impacts of attending the Stanford program in one Ontario health region so we could assess its value to the health region. The study asked: What are participants’ reactions and perceived impacts of attending the Stanford CDSMP?