January 8, 2015
CALGARY – If your New Year’s resolution was to improve your health, then the launch of the Better Choices, Better Health®-Online program might be for you.
This free workshop is designed to teach self-management skills to those living with chronic disease so they can feel better and live a healthier life.
In-person Better Choices, Better Health® workshops have been available throughout Alberta since 2011 and were offered in more than 100 communities last year. The online version of this program will help improve access to all Albertans, including those in rural and remote areas of the province, those with medical conditions that prevent them from getting out, and those who can’t access transportation. The online workshop is also a good fit for those individuals who may be working and are unable to find an in-person workshop to meet their schedule.
Better Choices, Better Health®-Online workshops are easy to follow and participants can join from any computer with an internet connection. With up to 25 people in each workshop group, interactive sessions are posted each week for six weeks.
Once signed up, individuals log in at their convenience two or three times a week for a total of about two hours a week. All participants can remain anonymous and the workshop takes place on a dedicated, secure website.
Led by trained volunteers, many with health conditions themselves, Better Choices, Better Health®-Online helps participants set goals and make a step-by-step action plan towards feeling better.
Based on Stanford University’s Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, the Better Choices, Better Health®-Online workshop covers:
Those living with chronic conditions are often faced with the same day-to-day challenges. Because of this, both the online and in-person workshops focus on teaching tools and techniques common to all chronic conditions rather than any one specific disease or condition.
Whether you have diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, chronic pain, anxiety, or any other ongoing health condition, a Better Choices, Better Health® workshop can help you live a healthier life.
These workshops are one of many services provided by the Alberta Healthy Living Program, which supports chronic disease management programming throughout the province.
To register for a Better Choices, Better Health®-Online workshop, visit: https://betterchoicesbetterhealth.ca/online/
For information on both the online and in-person workshops visit: albertahealthservices.ca/bcbh.asp.
Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.
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