Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) was developed by a team of researchers at Stanford University. It’s a self-management education workshop for people with a variety of chronic health conditions. It aims to build participants’ confidence in managing their health and keep them active and engaged in their life.

Participants attend a 2 1⁄2-hour interactive workshop once a week for 6 weeks to learn problem-solving, decision-making, and other techniques for managing problems common to people with chronic diseases. In a typical workshop, participants set a realistic goal for the upcoming week and develop an action plan for meeting that goal. They report on their progress at the following workshop and solicit feedback from the group to help address any challenges.

The Diabetes Self-Management Program (DSMP) is a lay-led patient education program. This program is led by pairs of trained lay leaders to groups of ten to sixteen people once each week for 2 and ½ hours for six consecutive weeks. Courses are held in community locations such as recreation centres, community centres, schools and churches. Workshops are facilitated by two trained leaders, one or both of whom are non-health professionals living with diabetes themselves.

The “Getting the Most from your Healthcare Appointment” workshop was developed for the public by the South West Self-Management Program in 2013. This 1 – 1.5 hours, interactive workshop, focuses on what to do before, during and after an appointment and uses action planning to optimize people’s health. A variety of learning resources are used including information sharing, videos, tools and a resource manual that supports the individual with integrating the skills into their next appointment. This workshop prepares and empowers individuals to communicate more effectively with their health care provider. Ultimately, patients are the most important members of their healthcare team.