March 23, 2016

France – IRIS programme for patient education

After a diagnosis of PID, patients often feel lost juggling treatments, appointments and life decisions. For a PID patient education about his/hers therapy is crucial for greater independence and better quality of life.
The World Health Organization defines patient therapeutic education (PTE) as the means to help acquire or maintain skills to better manage chronic illness. Following this definition IRIS in partnership with the French reference center for PIDs (CEREDIH) developed an education program for adult PID patients with humoral immune deficiency called “DIP &EDUC!”.

This program will help patients better cope with their conditions by analysing their individual situations, sharing experiencies and learning. It consists of several educational tools and strategies that can be used in group gatherings in a class-like manner. Patients will benefit from:

1) Educational assessment of patient’s needs, expectations and educational goals

2) Three different tools: My PID to better know his illness; My treatments to improve patient’s compliance; My daily life to identify risk situations and develop strategies to live as best as possible with a PID

3) Acquired skills assessment done by the patient.