Healthy Living Workshops: Empowerment through Education
Dec 07, 2017
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Healthy Living workshops are designed to help you manage a chronic health issue like diabetes, heart disease or arthritis, or learn self-care strategies while caring for a loved one. Each workshop is led by two experienced and trained volunteer leaders, who facilitate brain storming sessions and group discussion to encourage participation, peer-learning and personal goal-setting. Participants receive their own book of workshop materials to use as a resource. The workshops use evidence-based curricula, the first of which were developed by researchers at Stanford University, including
My Life, My Health: Chronic Disease Self-Management and Diabetes Self-Management. Most classes are about two hours long and meet once a week for six to eight weeks. My Life, My Health focuses on setting and meeting personal goals, how to improve communication with your doctor, simple techniques for enhancing quality of life, and better stress-management. Other topics are also covered, such as eating a balanced diet, strategies for preventing falls and staying physically active.
Some workshops are more specific, such as A Matter of Balance: Evidence-Based Falls Management Program for Older Adults, which focuses on reducing the fear of falling, how to protect yourself in the event of a fall, and includes exercises to increase physical strength. Additional Healthy Living workshops include Powerful Tools for Caregivers, Chronic Pain Self-Management, and Healthy Eating for Successful Living and Tai Chi for Arthritis Program, among others.
Many of the Healthy Living programs in Massachusetts are offered by Area Agencies on Aging for free, or for a small fee. Springwell, Inc., the Area Agency on Aging for Belmont, Brookline, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Watertown, Wellesley and Weston, offers several different Healthy Living programs throughout the year at Councils on Aging, physician offices, community education centers and senior housing sites. A typical Healthy Living workshop schedule can be found at http://www.springwell.com/service/healthy-living-program. For information about workshops offered throughout the state, visit the Healthy Living Center of Excellence at http://www.healthyliving4me.org/workshop-schedule/.
Editors Note: This article was submitted by Laura Vanderhill, LSW, MHA. Laura is an Associate Director with Springwell, Inc. and may be reached at 617-926-4100.
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