The Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis: Emotions

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By Kathy Kastner with Zal Press First, you grieve A diagnosis of Type2 Diabetes means the end of life as you’ve lived it. Adding to the shock is the perception: Type2 is the ‘bad’ diabetes. The one you’ve brought on yourself by your overindulgent lifestyle. Type1 is seen as the ‘good’ diabetes: beyond your control.

Rarely is this the case: Type2 Diabetes is most often ‘written in the genes’, thus confounding even the most diligent of health efforts.

Lori became an advocate as a result of seeing the impact of this condition on her father and nephew, which evolved into her becoming a resource and Opinion Leader.

With a Type2 diagnosis, going through the stages of grief is not uncommon: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and eventually – hopefully – choosing to accept. Anger and denial Even for those in ethnicities at high risk of T2, acceptance of a diagnosis can be devastating. Heather is a nurse and Opinion Leader who, on a whim – and well into her career – decided to test herself: Being as she was in the hospital on the Diabetes unit. That was in 1989.

Aida (who gives an infectious giggle as she explains,’ it’s pronounced like the Opera’) is slim and fit and is [...] continue the story

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Fighting the scourge of fibroids with patient advocacy

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By Zal Press and Holly Bridges Given the complex and frustrating journey so many women with fibroids must endure, what can women do to take more command of the journey and get better outcomes for themselves and others? We have heard how greater awareness of treatment options can empower women to advocate for themselves with their physicians. We have even heard from physicians themselves encouraging women to do so.

This kind of self-advocacy can make a huge difference on an individual level. But to drive real change in practice, the collective voice of women across the country needs to be leveraged. System change and health reform that will impact the lives of millions of women, not just one, is the result of collective advocacy. And that is what we’ve come to understand as a movement.

“You can spend a lot of time admiring a problem but no change will happen until you push on the systems that are causing the problem or the barriers that are preventing you from moving in new directions,” said Carmen Wyton, a social innovation champion, chair of the (Alberta) Premier’s Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities and head of a new Alberta Women’s Health Coalition.

The recent gathering [...] continue the story

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It’s Time to Put the Patient in Queen’s Park

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By: Zal Press and Dawn Richards

September 28, 2014

As dedicated patient experts we welcome Ontario Premier Wynne’s Mandate Letter to Health Minister Eric Hoskins. We are encouraged that in an interview with the Globe and Mail (Kelly Grant, July 11, 2014) Minister Hoskins committed himself to “improving the patient experience” and the Mandate letter leads with a priority to “Putting Patients at the Centre”.

In our many patient roles, we’ve heard the platitudes of “patient-centred care” and “patient experience” bandied about like badminton birdies that can fall to the ground with nary a concern and then replayed with the same casual whimsy.

Will this time be different? We’d like to give Minister Hoskins the benefit of the doubt and support his intent with a vision that embraces the opportunity that a focus on patient experience provides.

We start by providing a common understanding of the “patient experience.” The Beryl Institute, a global community of practice and premier thought leaders on improving the patient experience in healthcare, defines patient experience as: “the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.“ This definition tells us that patient experience is more than just satisfied patients. Satisfaction is the result [...] continue the story

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