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Krause, C.M., Kuhn, M.E. J., & Wolfe, K. (2008). A brief description of the limitations of the current health care system in the United States, and a program response to the complex issues of many individuals who are confronted with multiple, chronic conditions. In L.A. Klein & E.L. Neumann (Eds.) Integrated Health Care Delivery, (pp. 1-17) New York: Nova Science Publishers.
This article describes an innovative, theory-driven, multidisciplinary intervention program designed to a) improve the health and healthcare of individuals who are dealing with multiple chronic health conditions, and b) help these individuals learn to manage their healthcare by means of an empowerment process through modeling, education, and decision support by a collaborative, multidisciplinary team. The focus of the intervention is to empower participants to be responsible for their healthcare through a gradual process of increasing personal involvement in the healthcare decision-making process. Another goal of the program is the effective use of healthcare dollars. The literature review explains the reasoning behind the goals of this program. A description of information learned through the research data collection process is described, and conclusions are presented.
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Krause, C.M., & Kuhn, M.E.J. (2007). Help for the caring: The stress, value, and the perceptions of informal caregivers. Annuals of the American Psychotherapy Association, 10(1), 32-37.
This study consisted of reviewing empirical literature concerning the effects of being an informal caregiver. Additionally, a study of caregivers was conducted to examine their level of health and level of personal control over their health issues. The results indicate that informal caregivers do rate their level of health lower than adults who are not informal caregivers. Furthermore, adults who believe that they have more personal control over different aspects of their lives believe that their health is better than adults who do not perceive themselves as having as much personal control. The results suggest the need for psychosocial interventions to teach stress-management strategies in order to increase caregivers’ perceptions of personal control, and their perceptions of their level of health.
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Krause, C.M., Jones, C.S., Kuhn, M.E.J., Joyce, S., Curtin, K., Murphy, L. P., Krause, C.M.J., Boan, B. K., & Lucas, D. R. (2006). The impact of a multi-disciplinary approach in improving health and quality of care for individuals dealing with multiple, chronic conditions. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(1), 109-114.
This study examined the effects of using a multidisciplinary, integrated, whole-person, team advocate approach to educate and empower participants with multiple chronic illnesses and to coordinate, monitor, and support their healthcare process. Individuals (n=39) from Midwest hospitals participated and completed self-report instruments. Changes in participants' functioning were also measured with diagnostic measures completed by the team advocates. The results indicate that the participants' perceptions of physical functioning, physical well-being, control, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction increased. Additionally, health-related behavior changes were reported, and short-term costs were significantly lower than projected costs. Finally, the participants rated their healthcare services in the program as more effective than their previous healthcare services.
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