Table 3 Content of the self-management programme for employees with a chronic somatic disease.
Timing | Lesson | Topics |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 | Introduction Importance of physical exercise | - Overview of the course |
| Â | Â | - Objectives of the course |
| Â | Â | - Objectives of the participants |
| Â | Â | - Inventory of problems encountered at work by the chronic disease |
| Â | Â | - Introduction to cope with symptoms by using guided imagery |
| Â | Â | - The importance of physical exercise for people with a chronic disease |
| Â | Â | - Introduction to making action plans |
Week 2 | Coping with pain, fatigue and stress at work | - Symptoms that interfere with the ability to work |
| Â | Â | - Situations causing stress, pain or fatigue (at work) |
| Â | Â | - Solutions to deal with stress, pain or fatigue (at work) |
| Â | Â | - Breathing exercises |
| Â | Â | - Introduction to cognitive symptom management |
Week 3 | Importance of healthy nutrition/Problems encountered at work | - Introduction to healthy nutrition |
| Â | Â | - The importance of healthy nutrition for people with a chronic disease |
| Â | Â | - Introduction to working with a chronic disease |
| Â | Â | - Introduction to the model of work load and work capacity |
| Â | Â | - Solutions at the workplace |
Week 4 | Communication techniques at the workplace | - Communication techniques |
| Â | Â | - How to communicate with supervisor and colleagues about the problems encountered at work |
| Â | Â | - How to communicate with supervisor and colleagues about possible solutions at work |
| Â | Â | - How to communicate with family and friends about the problems and possible solutions to combine work and home |
Week 5 | Working together with occupational health professionals | - Working together with occupational health professionals and HRM advisors at work |
Week 6 | Plans for the future | - What has been accomplished the past six weeks? |
| Â | Â | - What have we learned in the course? |
| Â | Â | - Formulating long-term plans |