Manage Your Illness

Welcome! Today is Saturday, September 4, 2010

Who's dealing with chronic illness? People just like you!

The road to a healthy life is one we all must travel, and that road is made more difficult by chronic illness. Manage Your Illness is designed for people who may have a chronic illness such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease, or rheumatoid arthritis. Here you will find information about how you can take control of your own health, and you'll be able to share information on how you personally manage your illness to help others.

Together, we can be partners in giving you the confidence and tools to work as an equal partner with your physician to manage your health.

Recently On MYI:

A multicenteedr RCT of a cognitive behavioral program for lower back pain

Tom Creer, PhD
September 3, 2010 | Discussion (0)

S Lamb et al. A multicentred randomised controlled trial of a primary care-based cognitive behavioural programme for low back pain. The Back Skills Training (BeST) trial. Health Technology Assessment, 2010;14:1-281. Lamb and associates estimated the clinical effectiveness of active management (AM) in general practice versus AM plus a group-based, professionally... See the rest »

Self-efficacy and locus of control in severe migraine

Tom Creer, PhD
September 2, 2010 | Discussion (0)

Seng EK & Holroyd KA (2010). The dynamics of changes in self-efficacy and local of control expectancies in the behavioral and drug treatment of severe migraine. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, in press. For severe migraine sufferers, psychological treatments build on the benefits of drug therapy, according to a new study... See the rest »

Written asthma action plans in emergency rooms

Tom Creer, PhD
September 1, 2010 | Discussion (0)

Ducharme FM et al. Written Action Plan in Pediatric Emergency Room Improves Asthma Prescribing, Adherence and Control. American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine, August 27, 2010. An acute-care visit for asthma often signals a management failure. While a written action plan is effective when combined with self-management education... See the rest »

Patient-centered care by family and general physicians

Tom Creer, PhD
August 31, 2010 | Discussion (0)

KD Bertakis, R Azari. Determinants and outcomes of patient-centered care. Patient Education & Counseling, August 27, 2010. Bertakis and Azari defined an interactional analysis instrument to characterize patient-centered care and identify associated variables. In the study, 509 new adult patients were randomized to care by family physicians and general internists.... See the rest »

Self-management strategies used during flares of rheumatoid arthritis

Tom Creer, PhD
August 30, 2010 | Discussion (0)

C Kett et al. Self-management strategies used during flares of rheumatoid arthritis in an ethnically diverse population. Musculoskeletal Care, August 26, 2010. Effective management of flares of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can improve symptoms and may delay disease progression. The practice of rheumatologists in managing a flare has been studied, but... See the rest »

Changing perceptions of patients with Parkinson's disease

Tom Creer, PhD
August 26, 2010 | Discussion (1)

N Miller et al. Changing perceptions of self as a communicator in Parkinson's disease: a longitudinal follow-up study. Disability & Rehabilitation, August 24, 2010. Dysarthria in neurological conditions can impact on people's view of themselves as communicators. How views might evolve and how they relate to changes in other variables... See the rest »

A critical analysis of quality improvement strategies in asthma

Tom Creer, PhD
August 25, 2010 | Discussion (0)

DM Bravata et al. Closing the Quality Gap: A Critical Analysis of Quality Improvement Strategies (Vol. 5: Asthma Care). Despite the availability of evidence-based guidelines for the management of pediatric and adult asthma, there remains a significant gap between accepted best practices for asthma care and actual care delivered to... See the rest »

Diabetic patients' initial experiences in performing self-management skills

Tom Creer, PhD
August 24, 2010 | Discussion (0)

WH Polonsky et al. Are Patients' Initial Experiences at the Diagnosis of Type 2 Diabetes Associated With Attitudes and Self-management Over Time? Diabetes Education, August 20, 2010. The purpose of a study by Polonsky and associates was to investigate patients' experiences when diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, and diabetes-related distress... See the rest »

Use of mobile-technology for disease and monitoring of malaria

Tom Creer, PhD
August 23, 2010 | Discussion (0)

P Meankaew et al. Application of mobile-technology for disease and treatment monitoring of malaria in the "Better Border Healthcare Programme" Malaria Journal, 2010;9:237. Meankaew and associates assessed the effectiveness of integrating the use of cell-phones into a routine malaria prevention and control program, to improve the management of malaria cases... See the rest »

Psychological health in obese patients following weight loss

Tom Creer, PhD
August 20, 2010 | Discussion (2)

G Osei-Assibey et al. Self-Reported Psychosocial Health in Obese Patients before and after Weight Loss. Journal of Obesity, 2010;pii:372463. Psychosocial profiles were examined in 255 morbidly obese patients attending a hospital service offering access to standard weight loss therapies. A total of 129 patients were reassessed after at least 6-month... See the rest »