Patient Education and Skill Building

Patients and families need clear information to understand the signs and symptoms of the disease(s) and treatments, and training to build the skills to monitor clinical indicators such as glycemic control or peak flow volume. This clinical content distinguishes self-management education from self-management support, which helps people make behavior changes and sustain them over time. Physicians, nurses, or other clinicians with appropriate training can provide self-management education. Primary care teams may have difficulty finding time and appropriate staff to provide patient education sessions in the course of an office visit, but providing just the right information in response to patient needs or questions is a very effective way to incrementally increase their understanding and skills. For in-depth education, programs offered by public health entities or hospitals are an underused referral resource. Psychosocial and emotional stressors as well as physical symptoms should be considered in these programs.