Expert Patient Course in Chronic Diseases

Currently, most deaths are due to chronic pathologies such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular or respiratory diseases. This is the result of the great demographic changes that have occurred in recent years as a result of the increase in life expectancy.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), chronic diseases currently account for 63% of deaths worldwide and are responsible for 75% of public health spending. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and implement effective strategies to face the challenge of chronicity.

In this context, the training of chronic patients and their caregivers become a fundamental pillar of the system, capable of transforming active patients (patients who care about their health and take responsibility for obtaining the best possible health care and controlling the evolution of their disease) in expert patients (patients with an advanced degree of knowledge in self-care of their pathology).

Objectives

The fundamental objective of this course is to carry out a training program on the main chronic pathologies aimed at patients, caregivers, or any interested citizen.

Hours: 600 teaching hours per academic year (Total number of credits: 90 ECTS)

Common General Module

• Basic concepts of human anatomy: what are we like?
• Basic concepts of human physiology: how do we work?
• Basic concepts on pharmacology, how do we treat ourselves?
• Basic concepts of psychology, how do we think?
• Healthy habits in the chronic patient: how can we take care of ourselves?

Specific Modules

• Chronic Pain Expert Patient Module
• The module of Expert Patients in Cardiometabolic Diseases

Chronic Pain Module

• Chronic pain, a public health problem
• pain anatomy
• pain physiology
• exercise and pain
• Pharmacological treatment of pain
• medical treatment of pain
• psychological treatment of pain
• Physiotherapy treatment of pain
• Visit a pain research laboratory
• Role of Nursing in Pain
• Role of the Pain Unit
• Back School
• New technologies and chronic disease
• Health Information on the Internet/Social Networks
• Legal aspects of chronic illness

Cardiometabolic Diseases Module

• Definition, types, and risk factors associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases
• etiology of diabetes. Types of Diabetes
• History of Diabetes and metabolic control of glycemia
• Pharmacological interventions in cardiovascular pathologies and diabetes
• The EMOTION study in diabetes
• Diet therapy in cardiovascular and metabolic pathologies
• Dietary Assessment and Labeling Practice
• Prevention and treatment of microvascular and macrovascular complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus
• Other approaches in the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases
• Managing the socio-emotional impact of cardiovascular disease and diabetes
• Training in cardiometabolic self-care
• Cardiometabolic disease in the arts
• New technologies and chronic disease
• Health Information on the Internet/Social Networks
• Legal aspects of chronic illness