The Importance of Therapeutic Education on Chronic Diseases: The Potential of Digital Education

Abstract

We are currently experiencing, in western societies, a new reality in health systems, the emergence of an epidemic of chronic diseases, which test and raise new challenges to the health systems. This exponential increase in chronic diseases has not been accompanied by updated training of health professionals in this area. The chronic illness implies a bilateral relationship, of commitment and compromise for life, in which the involvement of the sick person must be the rule. The scope of therapeutic education (TE) is making the person autonomous and helping them to maintain or improve their quality of life. To treat patients with chronic disease, health professionals need to adapt their knowledge to their new role in the therapeutic relationship. As for the methodology, a participative observational methodology will be carried out with the training of health professionals who work in this area. It is a descriptive work based on studies and works published by the main schools working in this area, with emphasis on the School of Geneve. The purpose is to identify the problem of chronic diseases, the challenges that patients and health professionals face and how to build educational projects, exploring the use of educational tools, including digital technology.

Citation

Valadas, C. and Cabral, A.M. (2023), "The Importance of Therapeutic Education on Chronic Diseases: The Potential of Digital Education", Vaz de Almeida, C. and Lytras, M.D. (Ed.) Technology-Enhanced Healthcare Education: Transformative Learning for Patient-centric Health (Emerald Studies in Higher Education, Innovation and Technology), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 57-73. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-598-920231005