Chronic diseases are conditions that a person may live with for many years or a lifetime. Six in ten people in the United States live with at least one chronic disease, such as diabetes, cancer, or heart disease. Such chronic diseases can lead to early death, increased disability, decreased quality of life, and are a primary driver for increasing health care costs (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2018). Chronic diseases can be prevented through increased physical activity, eating well, avoiding excessive alcohol consumption and tobacco use, as well as getting periodic preventive health screens (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2018). Social determinants of health also play a role in the prevalence of chronic conditions, and chronic conditions can be more common or severe for minority groups (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017).
"After taking the class, my mindset changed. I feel so much freedom after accepting the fact that I have a chronic condition that I need to manage. This workshop was a life-changing event."
Over two years, Living Well Central Oregon offered 34 workshops with 378 total participants.
Eighteen community leaders were trained to provide Living Well Central Oregon Workshops.
76% of participants completed the Living Well Central Oregon Workshops.
Living Well Central Oregon is a fidelity model and 46 fidelity checks were conducted to assure high-quality services and outcomes.
The Living Well Central Oregon (LWCO) is proud of the strong partnerships cultivated with clinical and community partners to generate a strong presence in our region. Since LWCO was launched in 2007, Deschutes County Health Services and multiple partners have invested considerable time and effort to create the infrastructure we currently have for planning, implementation, referral, and reporting of self-management programs.
The LWCO program maintains Stanford Licensure to deliver programs, trains leaders to deliver the program, manages the leader pools regionally, and manages supplies, outreach, and coordination.
LWCO took on a variety of innovative projects such as electronic health record (EHR) referrals and teleconferencing. These examples are characteristic of how LWCO is continually breaking new ground to integrate evidence-based self-management programs into patient care.
While the numbers speak to the fact that LWCO delivers a fidelity program, some of the intangible benefits of the program should also be spoken to, and include the development and maintenance of cross-sector collaboration and relationship-building.