The extent and breadth of benefits from participating in chronic disease self-management courses: a national patient-reported outcomes survey

<b>Objective</b><br />To quantify the benefits that people receive from participating in self-management courses and identify subgroups that benefit most.<br /><b><br />Methods</b><br />People with a wide range of chronic conditions attending self-management courses (N = 1341 individuals) were administered the Health Education Impact Questionnaire (heiQ). Baseline and follow-up data were collected resulting in 842 complete responses. 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><br />Results</b><br />On average, one third of participants reported substantial benefits at the end of a course and this ranged from 49% in the heiQ subscale Skill and technique acquisition to 27% in the heiQ subscale 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><br />Conclusion</b><br />While the well-being of people with chronic diseases tends to decline, about one third of participants from a wide range of backgrounds show substantial improvements in a range of skills that enable them to self-manage.<br /><b><br />Practice implications</b><br />These data support the application of self-management courses indicating that they are a useful adjunct to usual care for a modest proportion of attendees.<br />