5 - Evidence Based Self-Management Programs for Neurological Conditions

Self-management is the summative set of behaviors that people with chronic disease use to cope with their illness and work towards maximal health. For a person living with chronic neurologic disease, developing the skills to self-manage their disease includes having knowledge of their condition and treatment, avoiding triggers, implementing safety precautions, and coping with related psychosocial stressors and comorbid conditions. The need for self-management is paramount because the monitoring, management and treatment of chronic neurologic conditions takes place in the home and community environment and is not isolated to a clinic or hospital unit. Knowledge acquisition, stimulation of independent sign and symptom monitoring, enhancement of problem solving and decision-making skills for medical treatment management, safety promotion, and changes in health behaviors encompass the scope of self-management programs. Chronic disease self-management approaches on the whole have been shown to be low risk, reduce medical burden, and improve health outcomes and quality of life. Neuropsychologists play a critical role in the development, implementation, and support of chronic disease self-management treatment to the extent that these interventions are largely behavioral/cognitive-behavioral, involve patient education and behavior change, and facilitate coping and adjustment. Evidence-based chronic disease self-management programs are ideally incorporated into comprehensive behavioral healthcare at the institutional and community levels to best address disparate opportunities for care and support. Telehealth deliverable standardized self-management programs targeting neurologic disease can increase access to care across the socioeconomic and geographic spectrum, and bring potential for lessening disparities.