The Development and Evaluation of a Self-Management Program for Cystic Fibrosis

Abstract

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a major health concern with respect to morbidity and mortality. A self-management program was developed and evaluated to determine how such an approach might reduce the impact of CF on patients and their families. Despite constraints imposed by the context within which the investigation was conducted, positive findings were obtained. These results indicated that children who received self-management training showed significant improvement in weight gain, and aerosol and chest physiotherapy treatments. The conclusion was that self-management procedures should be considered as a major approach to take for improving the health and quality of life of CF patients and their families.