Lifestyle Medicine: Establishing Clinical Approaches to Chronic Disease for Rural Patients
West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
Summary
Developed nations worldwide are currently enduring a health crisis, as chronic diseases continue to decrease quality of life and promote additional disease states or even death for much of the population. Rural populations are at a particular disadvantage, as they lack access to health clubs, wellness programs and similar resources that are more available in urban areas. Although pharmaceutical therapies have continued to show therapeutic advancements, the rates of disease onset and death from chronic disease has not seen similar improvements, and in fact continue to worsen. Excitingly, significant evidence has been published demonstrating an affordable, effective treatment to directly treat and prevent these chronic diseases, but few have demonstrated successful implementation of this therapy, which is improved lifestyle. Specifically, physical activity and healthy body composition are powerful therapeutics that have been demonstrated to effectively combat and prevent chronic diseases. Additionally, improving these lifestyle factors are often more effective than pharmaceutical interventions without the wide range of side effects. Unfortunately, barriers exist on multiple tiers in the practice of family medicine that demote the implementation of lifestyle medicine. To better serve patients at risk of, or suffering from chronic disease, the investigators are seeking to establish a lifestyle medicine prescription program for rural West Virginia. This program will provide patient education on the benefits of physical activity, body composition, and help patients identify strategies to implement healthy lifestyle choices that can be sustainable for the long-term. Patients will be advised on local opportunities to increase physical activity (yoga studio, martial arts, fitness facilities, aquatic center, etc.) and provided access to the facilities they are most likely to adhere to regularly. They will also be provided training on exercise techniques, equipment, and facilities to increase familiarity and comfort in these settings.
Description
Patients will have the option to opt-in to this program if they receive a referral from their primary care physician at the Robert C. Byrd Clinic (RCBC). The referral period will be one month long, followed by 3 months of wellness facility access (intervention period). This pilot program will be restricted to adults (18-64 years old) with two or more diagnosed chronic diseases. Program admittance will be restricted to patients with diseases that have sufficient evidence for the efficacy of exercise therapy. As patients will be referred to the program, they will all have physician consent to pa…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–64 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Program admittance will be restricted to patients with 2+ diagnosed diseases that have sufficient evidence for the efficacy of exercise therapy (obesity, hyperlipidemia, metabolic syndrome, polycystic ovarian syndrome, type II diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure, depression, anxiety) * physician referral required Exclusion Criteria: * no chronic disease diagnosis, lack of physician referral, unwillingness to participate.
Interventions
- BehavioralLifestyle counseling and coaching
Each participant will be provided with personalized exercise therapy that is best suited for their personal goals and disease states. Participants in this study will be encouraged to establish accountability through setting SMART goals, and through monitoring their activity using wearable fitness technology provided to them. This program will also aim to create a sense of community as group activity classes will be available for those that wish to attend. Individualized exercise/physical activity prescriptions will be provided and discussed.
Location
- West Virginia School of Osteopathic MedicineLewisburg, West Virginia