"Vein School." A program of education for chronic venous insufficiency patients at the La Léchère Hotspring

« L'École de la Veine » : Un programme d'éducation pour les patients atteints d'insuffisance veineuse chronique à la station thermale de La Léchère.
Authors: Satger B (1) , Carpentier PH (1) , Poensin D (1) , Féchoz C (1) , Colomb M (1) , Kalinowski I (1)
Affiliations:
(1) La Léchère University Research Center, Joseph Fourier University
Source: J Mal Vasc. 2002 Feb;27(1):26-30.
DOI: JMV-02-2002-27-1-0398-0499-101019-ART6 Publication date: 2002 Feb E-Publication date: Not specified Availability: abstract Copyright: © 2002 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits réservés.
Language: French Countries: France Location: Spa resort of La Léchère Correspondence address: Not specified

Keywords

Article abstract

Chronic venous insufficiency is a frequent and invalidating condition, which also represents an important socio-economical burden. As it is a chronic disease with no effective curative therapy, the preventive and educational means are of particular interest. The present health policy insists on the education given to patients suffering from chronic disease, but contrasting with other chronic conditions (diabetes, asthma, chronic back pain), to our knowledge, there is no published structured educational training programme dedicated to people suffering from CVI. Such an educational programme was developed at the spa resort of La Léchère (Savoie, France), which is specialized in the treatment of CVI. Proposed to voluntary patients taking the waters and driven by a multidisciplinary team (doctors, nurses, pharmacists), the objective was to promote a better knowledge in venous disease by the patients and to make them adopt a more active behaviour in their treatment. Three topics were approached in interactive work-groups using a problem solving teaching technique: "anatomy and physiology of the circulatory system", "venous diseases", "practical aspects life with compression stockings". Comparison of pre and post-teaching evaluations was performed in 149 unselected patients, allowing a short-term appraisal of the knowledge improvement. It showed a 25 to 40% increase in right answers according to the tested topic. Further evaluation of long term beneficial effects is needed. However, the high interest of patients regarding this teaching method and the content of the programme provides good expectations regarding a real beneficial effect on health and quality of life.

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