Due to improved medical facilities in current years, the elderly people are living longer and this creates an urgent need for their care and maintenance. The number of baby boomers in America is growing and it indirectly creates a demand for providing the best medical and non-medical home care to them. As people start aging, a lot of chronic health conditions come to surface, such as diabetes, arthritis, heart diseases, Alzheimer’s etc. and this interferes in their normal day to day life.
The pioneering national health institute in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 50 percent of the USA adults are suffering from one health condition. This results in the growing expenditure on the health care sector. According to 2015 census, 7 out of every 10 adults between the age group of 50 to 64 have been identified with one chronic illness and almost 50 percent of the population is found with 2 or more chronic ailments. So elderly and healthcare is a growing concern in the states of the USA. However, with the coming of special patient care centers this issue has been addressed to some extent.
Chronic Disease Self-management Program
CDSMP, as it is called, was developed by a few researchers from Stanford University during the early 1990s. It was an educational workshop designed for individuals about how to deal with chronic conditions on their own. The aim of CDSMP is to promote confidence among older adults on how to manage their health effectively and lead a healthy and active life.
This program teaches participants to develop problem-solving, decision-making strategies and other techniques to deal with problems brought by these chronic conditions. The workshops progress with a specific health goal and embarking an action plan to meet the goal. It is a 6 weeks learning program held once in a week and the feedbacks are shared on regular intervals for each patient.
These workshops are usually conducted in healthcare facilities and hospitals. This program is especially recommended for individuals who are diagnosed with more than one chronic condition and it has a serious impact on the daily life of an individual or who are encountering difficulties in implementing the health recommendations.
Does it benefit older adults?
Researches speak strongly about the effectiveness of this program in improving the physical condition and the quality of life of older adults. People participated in this program have reported an increased energy level and a decrease in the pain and said to have developed a better communication with their respective physicians. This program also brings back the confidence of old people and encourage them to take part in social activities which previously was not possible due to their health conditions. It also reportedly minimizes depression-related disorders among people. Additionally, weekly administration of Ketamine IV Infusion is beneficial to people diagnosed with severe depression.
Future of CDSMP
This program has gained wide recognition in the United States and has got numerous funders from the government. Because of the fact that the concept has grown so much over the years, it created lots of challenges in the better implementation of this program.
As it is an evidence-based program there is a constant pressure to modify this program and it especially comes from the patients who have not participated in it. So there is the constant effort to maintain the standard of the program. With the growing amount of trainers required for this program, it is posing a challenge to maintain the quality of the program. Despite the challenges, CDSMP helps to better manage healthcare among elderly in the United States and still continue gain acceptance from a wide group of population.
