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January 7, 2008Heart Patients Find Education Programs Lead to Better Health |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Older women heart patients benefit from educational programs as a supplement to clinical care to help significantly lower cardiac symptoms, lose weight and increase physical activity, a new study shows. The new research from the University of Michigan suggests that if hospitals and clinicians offered specially designed group or individual programs, depending on the desired outcome, female heart patients over 60 would need less health care and have a better quality of life. Noreen Clark, professor in the U-M School of Public Health and director of the University's Center for Managing Chronic Disease, said the results will help clinicians treat patients more successfully. Doctors, she said, are unable to personally offer in-depth education and counseling, yet they know that their patients need some type of supplemental support to adhere to prescribed cardiac care regimens. "The information was the same, but the method of delivery was different," said Nancy Janz, associate director of the Center for Managing Chronic Disease. The women were assigned to one of three groups: the self-directed program, the group program, and the control group, which only had usual care from the doctor without any follow-up education program. Ideally patients and their physicians should first decide on desired treatment outcomes, and then the physician should recommend a program. But, Clark said, in the country's health care system, which values technology and pharmaceuticals over health education, one of the big problems is a dearth of well-designed programs. Heart disease is a leading cause of death among women, and management problems are prevalent as women live longer.
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