Task Sharing Chronic Disease Self-Management Training With Lay Health Coaches to Reduce Health Disparities

摘要

Chronic disease self-management training improves health outcomes and reduces cost. However, one size does not fit all in self-management training interventions. Several factors, such as distance to self-management training program locations, educational level, and inequitable access to health care resources, affect utilization of these services in the minority and rural populations. Time constraints limit primary care physicians’ abilities to care adequately for patients with multiple chronic illnesses. Lay health coaches can share tasks with clinic teams to provide self-management training support in low-resource settings.