Coping with symptoms after education for self-management of chronic diseases

One benefit of education for self-management of chronic diseases is to increase the use of cognitive techniques for coping with symptoms. Unfortunately, that benefit can deteriorate over time, and that phenomenon, which is sometimes called “decay of impact”, has been studied only rarely. This study was done to understand the decay of impact with regard to the use of cognitive techniques for coping with symptoms, and especially to understand how that decay might be predicted. Data were analyzed from 381 adults suffering from chronic medical conditions, all of whom were involved in education to improve their self-management of their chronic condition(s). During the first year after the educational program, coping was measured four times. Variables associated with the decay of impact were found using statistical modeling (logistic regression). Decay of impact was found in almost half of the participants. The analysis provided moderately good predictions regarding the decay of impact. Given this new information, interventions to further improve coping with symptoms can be appropriately targeted to the people for whom they will be most beneficial.