Chronic Disease Self-Management Education: Program Success and Future Directions

Self-management is increasingly recognized as an essential element for improving chronic illness care in America. The accumulating knowledge base provides the field with a greater understanding about the different aspects of self- management, an inventory of evidence-based programs for enhancing self-management behaviors, and guidelines about how such models can be better integrated within geriatric care programs. This chapter will focus on the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP), one of the most widely tested and disseminated self-management models.