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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Nancy Chernett, MPH, Laura Gitlin, PhD, and Marie P. Dennis, PhD. Center for Applied Research on Aging and Health, Thomas Jefferson University, 130 S. 9th Street Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-503-2790, Nancy.Chernett@jefferson.edu

Harvest Health, an interdisciplinary collaboration between an Area Agency for Aging, a senior center, a health care provider and a research institution, translated and implemented Lorig's Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) with 500 community-dwelling African American elders. The goal of the CDSMP is to enable participants to assume a major role in managing their chronic health conditions by (1) increasing lifestyle skills that assist in managing chronic conditions; (2) increasing knowledge of personal risk factors associated with chronic disease; and (3) increasing personal responsibility in the management of chronic disease. The four-month evaluation for the first 212 participants shows statistically significant pre-post gains in self-efficacy for managing chronic conditions (p=.000) and time spent exercising (p = .000); decreased health distress (p = .023); and reduced illness intrusion to physical well-being/diet (p = .003 and work and finances (p = .000). Of most importance is that 96% of participants reported continued use of disease self-management strategies. Evaluation results suggest it is possible to implement the CDSMP with elderly African Americans and retain treatment fidelity. Lessons learned and implementation challenges will be discussed.

Learning Objectives: