Better health a choice

For people with chronic health conditions, good medical care is just half of the equation. Equally important is their ability to make healthy decisions, follow doctors’ recommendations and take care of their conditions.

Better Choices Better Health classes teach people with lifelong health conditions to do just that. Participants have less pain, more energy and fewer hospitalizations.

The workshops, offered in six, two-and-a-half-hour weekly sessions, are for anyone with a chronic disease. Chronic diseases are lifelong health conditions and include diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, depression, heart disease, chronic pain, anxiety, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia and others.

There’s a significant need for support for people with chronic diseases, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls the most common, costly and preventable of all U.S. health problems. They are also the leading causes of death and disability, responsible for seven out of 10 deaths each year.

“The good news is that people who know how to take care of their health conditions can live successfully with their disease,” said Marcia Watson, a volunteer facilitator. “The Better Choices Better Health workshops are a wonderful complement to medical care, helping people to live well outside the doctor’s office so they can make the most of their treatment and live the lives they want.”

During the six-week session, participants receive support from trained leaders and other workshop participants, learn practical ways to manage their pain and fatigue, learn about nutrition and exercise options, understand new treatment choices and learn better ways to communicate about their conditions with doctors and family members.

Research shows that participation in Better Choices Better Health consistently results in greater energy/reduced fatigue, more exercise, fewer social role limitations, better psychological well-being, enhanced partnerships with physicians, improved health status and greater self-efficacy.

Find out for yourself how this program can help you. For information on workshops, visit http://tinyurl.com/c6n2jvb, or call 745-3677. Session schedules include:

• Tuesdays in January, 5:30 to 8 p.m., at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Palmer, 745-3338.

• Tuesdays Jan. 10 to Feb. 14, 1 to 3:30 p.m., at Palmer Senior Center.

• Mondays Jan. 30 to March 5, 12:30 to 3 p.m., at Wasilla Senior Center, 745-3677.

Julie Cascio is a home economist at the Mat-Su District Cooperative Extension Office.