Cotoco Announce Results of Study Aimed At Increasing People’s Ability To Self Care

Cotoco Announce Results of Study Aimed At Increasing People’s Ability To Self Care

Southampton, UK (PRWEB UK) 21 August 2011

The Department of Health states that there are 15 million people in the UK with long term conditions, and the number is increasing. Pressure on healthcare resources is set to intensify further. People’s ability to self care therefore has never been more important. Cotoco announced today the results of a three month feasibility study aimed at seeing if techniques used to help people improve performance in industry could address these issues in the healthcare sector.

Out of all possible long term conditions, the study team selected Psoriasis and set about creating a support environment for people with this condition (approximately 2-3% of the UK population). The goal is to provide a toolkit that empowers people to self-manage with support from healthcare professionals.

With the help and expertise of dermatology nursing specialist Julie Van Onselen, the toolkit was designed to take the user on a journey that starts with improving understanding of their condition, through practical day to day management of it, and culminates in producing a personalised action plan.

Assessment of the impact the toolkit had was carried out by the Centre of Wellbeing and Quality of Life at Bournemouth University. Their final report states they found a statistically significant increase (27.5%) in the index used to measure people’s ability to self care following use of the toolkit, with about half of participants (45.3%) reporting it had made a difference to how they manage their condition.

Don Fuller, Cotoco Managing Director stated “Over the medium to longer term this approach has the potential to improve people’s quality of life and at the same time make a valuable saving in National Health Service resources by helping people look after themselves better.”

Notes to Editors

Cotoco Limited is a Southampton based private company specialising in the use of computers to help people deal with situations that are complex and/or are new to them. Founded in 1994 by Don Fuller and Professor Colin Coulson-Thomas, Cotoco has developed a highly practical and effective way of supporting people in a way that makes behavioural change easier for them. By basing the support environment on how top performers work, Cotoco facilitates the uptake of best practice. In industry this approach has proven to deliver strategically significant improvements in organisational performance.

The feasibility study has been made possible through a Technology Strategy Board grant together with the support of an educational grant from Dermal Laboratories.

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