Who benefits most from participating in chronic disease self-management programs?

<b>Objectives:</b> To quantify the benefits that people receive from participating in self-management courses and identify subgroups that benefit most.<br /><b>Research Design:</b> People with a wide range of chronic conditions attending self-management courses (N=1,341 individuals) were administered the generic Health Education Impact Questionnaire (HEI-Q). Data were collected before the first session (baseline) and at the end of courses (follow-up) resulting in 842 complete responses. The median (interquartile range) age was 64 (54 to 73) years and most participants were female (75%). Outcomes were categorized as Substantial improvement (Effect Size, ES ≥ 0.5), Minimal/No change (ES -0.49 to 0.49) and Substantial decline (ES ≤ -0.5).<br /><b>Results:</b> On average, one third of participants reported substantial benefits after attending a self-management course. Proportions of participants reporting substantial benefits ranged from 49% in Skill and technique acquisition to 27% in Health service navigation. Stratification by gender, age and education showed that younger participants were more likely to benefit, particularly young women. No further subgroup differences were observed.<br /><b>Conclusions:</b> Given that the health of people with chronic diseases tends to decline, this evaluation is reassuring in that about one third of participants coming from a wide range of backgrounds receive substantial improvements in their self-management skills.<br />