Employees with a chronic disease often encounter problems at work because of their chronic disease. Detaille and colleagues described the development of a self-management program based on the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) of Stanford University to help employees with a chronic somatic disease cope with these problems at work. The objective of this article is to present the systematic development and content of this program. The method of intervention mapping (Bartholomew 2006) was used to tailor the original CDSMP for employees with a chronic somatic disease. A needs assessment was carried out by a literature review and qualitative focus groups with employees with a chronic disease and involved health professionals. On the basis of the needs assessment, the relevant determinants of self-management behavior at work have been identified for the target population and the objectives of the training have been formulated. Furthermore, techniques have been chosen to influence self-management and the determinants of behavior and a program plan has been developed. The intervention was designed to address general personal factors such as lifestyle, disease-related factors (such as coping with the disease), and work-related personal factors (such as self-efficacy at work). The course consists of six sessions of each two and a half hour and intents to increase the self-management and empowerment of employees with a chronic somatic disease.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER: Intervention mapping was found to be a useful tool for tailoring in a systematic way the original CDSMP for employees with a chronic somatic disease. It might be valuable to use IM for the development and adjustment of interventions in occupational health care.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE CONSUMER:
Intervention mapping might prove useful in permitting you and your health care provider jointly develop a self-management program that optimally fits your chronic condition.

SI Detaille, et al. Using intervention mapping (IM) to develop a self-management programme for employees with a chronic disease in the Netherlands. BMC Public Health, 2010;10:353.