The workshop on Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management Program held in Blacktown was a huge success. The sponsoring agencies for this program were the Connecting Care Services, Western Sydney Local Health District, Health and Education Department of the Blacktown Hospital whose Manager is Joanne Medlin. The facilitators who conducted the workshop were Dr. Julie Nunez, OAM and this writer.
The workshop ran for six weeks every Friday starting from 22 April to 27 May 2016. It was held at the Life Changing College, Blacktown. The workshop was FREE and morning tea was provided. The program was intended to improve the quality of life of the participants by: (a) Taking care of their health condition; (b) Carrying out their normal duties; and (c) Managing emotional changes in their lives.
During the workshop, the participants were provided with self-management tools which can help them cope with their individual problems relating to chronic health conditions. These may include, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, Arthritis, etc. Participants learned several thinking type techniques which can best work for them to manage symptoms and feel better.
The participants felt overwhelmed at the health information they learned from the workshop. Many said they would apply [the information] to themselves and share it with their families and friends.