June 15, 2009
Martha Olick, CHAP, guides participants through the process of developing action plans.
Living Well with chronic conditions
by Debbie Michael, Diabetes Educator
Kwethluk Clinic and the YKHC Diabetes Prevention and Control Program teamed up last winter to offer and host the Living Well Alaska Program-a six-session course to help people better cope with chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma, and arthritis.
Between January 28 and March 20, participants in the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program learned to manage symptoms, set goals, problem solve, use relaxation techniques, work with their health care team, and eat well and be physically active with their chronic health conditions.
The participants evaluated the workshops at the end of the session and had a lot to say about it.
When asked to rate the sessions from 0 (being the worst) to 10 (being the best), the participants rated the workshops from six to 10.
Some of the things they liked about the workshops included:
The fact that the facilitators were "our own people" and "able to speak our language so we understood more."
"The facilitators and participants were easy to talk with and we became aware that we were all in the same boat."
"Seeing people who care about themselves and that they came to learn to take care of themselves."
Learning to problem-solve
One of the members suggested that we keep the ‘hands-on' part of the discussions where the whole group participates.
When asked about things that they didn't like and wanted to improve, the majority wished that more people would participate and be involved in the workshops.
One topic that they didn't like was discussing, ‘advanced directives' because we don't generally discuss death and dying.
Here is a list of things the participants learned and plan on using:Making time to relax, meditation, action planning, eating healthy, exercising, using "I" messages, being positive, and they said they will instruct others about what they learned.
One of them confessed, "I am not alone in having problems and coping with them."
Martha Olick, CHP, and I would like to extend our thank you to Kwethluk and the participants for making the program successful. We hope to begin a monthly support group after the six sessions in Kwethluk.
If you are interested in starting the Living Well Alaska program in your community, please call Debbie Michael at 1-877-543-6133
A Letter from one of the Participants
April 7, 2009 - Kwethluk, Alaska
Dear Sirs/Madam:
On March 7, our group completed six weeks of instruction entitled, "Living Well with Chronic Conditions."
Our instructors were Martha Olick, CHP and Debbie Michael, Health Educator from YKHC. They were very helpful in that they answered our health questions verbally or with information that they could get from the hospital and clinic.
Our group realized we weren't the only people that were coping with problems health-wise and community-wise. In our discussions, we found we were coming up against the same problems.
The solutions to our problems were also discussed. We brainstormed and together we came up with ideas that were helpful to us. This brought us closer to each other. Now, I can call a "buddy" and not feel so alone.
This has been a very worthwhile class. Maybe it can be used in another village to help people cope with life's everyday problems like ours.
Our group's feeling after this class was of relief, that we can and will do things, but within our limits both mentally and physically.
Many thanks to our leaders. Stay healthy!
Yours Truly, (for our group)
-James "Jimmy" Michael
