Innovation Grant Helps Patients Manage Chronic Conditions Online

Nearly half of Group Health members have two or three chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, or depression. To help these members, Group Health offers "Living Well With Chronic Conditions," a program that trains member-facilitators living with chronic illness to lead workshops for other members. In these sessions, members create action plans and gain self-management and problem-solving skills. They also get social support from each other while building confidence to take better care of their own health.

Because most workshops are offered during weekday business hours, few members with day jobs participate. Some members feel uncomfortable discussing their illnesses face to face.

To overcome these barriers, Kim Wicklund, MPH, a manager in Group Health's Clinical Improvement and Prevention department and her team implemented an online version of "Living Well With Chronic Conditions." To test its effectiveness, they applied to the Partnership for Innovation — and received $151,450 to pilot their idea.

Online participants visit a virtual learning center packed with useful content and a discussion forum to interact with others. Hundreds of members who would otherwise be unable to attend in person choose to take part in the online workshop. Participants in the pilot program experienced significant improvements in self-reported health status.

About Kim Wicklund

Kim Wicklund oversees self-management support programs and the development of patient health education resources at Group Health. Kim's work focuses on chronic disease prevention and self-management, cultural competency, health literacy, and community health worker/lay educator interventions. Kim recently shared tips about living well with chronic conditions during a live webinar in February.