Stanford University’s Better Choices, Better Health Program Offers Free Online Diabetes Workshops in Seven Pilot States (CA, NJ, MA, OR, IA, ME, HI)
By Adam Brown
Often, a lack of knowledge or an absence of support makes it hard to become healthier and improve our diabetes management. But a new online program from Stanford University called Better Choices, Better Health is trying to dramatically improve the self-care practiced by those with conditions like diabetes, asthma, arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis. The program will be offered free to patients with chronic conditions in seven states (California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Oregon, Iowa, Maine, and Hawaii). Those who sign up can join up to 25 others in an interactive workshop and participate in easy-to-follow online sessions, which are posted each week for six weeks. Users simply log on at their convenience two or three times per week for a total of two hours per week. Better Choices, Better Health is unique in that sessions are highly participative: users set their own personal health goals and offer mutual support through internal messaging and online discussion boards. Users can choose to remain anonymous, and the program does not require proof of anything. Some of the topics that will be covered include exercise, healthy eating, use of medications, and disease-related problem solving. We hope to see the program expand soon to include additional states. For more information about the Better Choices, Better Health, please click here. To sign up, visit selfmanage.org. -- AB
