6.2. Education
Educational programs not only can offer information,
but also enhance skills and self-efficacy.
People with chronic disease and their family
care-givers often must take on tasks that require
special skills and/or knowledge. For example,
they may need to learn how to attend to physical
care needs, control pain, and manage the emotional
aspects of illness. Care-givers of family
members with dementia may have to learn how
to manage difficult behaviors, such as catastrophic
reactions of their relative to bathing or
other daily activities. People with chronic illness
also must pay special attention to health-promoting
behaviors, such as nutrition, exercise, and
relaxation and stress management.
In contrast to simply presenting information
education enhances skills and contributes to
psychological adaptation to illness or caregiving,
An important principle guiding the programs of
the Family Support Center is that of self-efficacy,
which emphasizes the importance not just of
knowledge, but of a sense of mastery over one’s
illness conditions and a sense of control over
one’s well-being. When people have a sense of
control over their health, they are more likely to
engage in heath-promoting behavior, to maintain
a more positive attitude about their situation,
and to be less likely to experience depression
[14].
Efficacy-based education teaches skills needed
for self-management, models positive approaches
to problem-solving and overcoming difficulties
reinterprets physiological signs and symptoms,
and uses persuasion to promote positive self-management
[15]. Numerous studies have found
a strong relationship between self-efficacy and