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More than medicines peer education sessionsMore than medicines peer education sessions
How can you help seniors become more aware of the benefits of lifestyle changes like stopping smoking and losing weight? One way is to provide opportunities for them to learn from each other. This approach has been adopted by the National Prescribing Service (NPS) and COTA, the voice of senior Australians.
For the last four years, NPS and COTA have been training seniors in each state and territory to become Peer Educators. The Peer Educators then go out and talk about medicines to their peers, that is, other seniors in their area. To date, COTA Peer Educators have given free talks about the wise use of medicines and generic medicines to over 3,000 groups.
However, medicines are not always the only or best way to improve our health and well-being, so a new talk has been developed.
The ‘More than medicines–living well’ talk focuses on the role that lifestyle factors like stopping smoking and losing weight can play in preventing and better controlling chronic conditions. In the case of some chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, these lifestyle changes can complement or even replace treatment with medicines, thus reducing or eliminating the need for medicines.
Many more seniors are now using the internet to search for information about health, medicines and other treatments. The ‘More than medicines–living well’ talk shows seniors how to critically judge health information found on the internet, and how to determine whether a particular website has been endorsed as containing accurate information.
The ‘More than medicines–living well’ talk lasts about an hour, and is free. It can be held at a time and place that suits your group. The speaker can cover the effect of lifestyle factors on health in general, or they can focus on the effects of lifestyle factors on type 2 diabetes, chronic pain or hypertension, depending on your group’s needs.
Speakers can come to your group
at a time and place that suits you.
If you would like a COTA Peer Educator to come and give the ‘More than medicines – living well’ talk to your group, ring COTA in your state or territory to arrange a free session for your group.
| State | Telephone |
| ACT | 02 6282 3777 |
| New South Wales | 02 9286 3868 |
| Northern Territory | 08 8941 1004 |
| Queensland | 07 3316 2999 |
| South Australia | 08 8232 0422 |
| Tasmania | 03 6228 1897 |
| Victoria | 03 9655 2107 |
| Western Australia | 08 9321 2133 |
MedicinesTalk is a free quarterly newsletter for consumers written by consumers about using medicines wisely. Subscribe to the hard copy version using our online ordering system, or write to MedicinesTalk, National Prescribing Service Limited, PO Box 1147, Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012.
Date published: 2009-08-13 00:00:00
Reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the date of creation. This information is not intended as a substitute for medical advice from a qualified health professional. Health professionals should rely on their own expertise and enquiries when providing medical advice or treatment. Where permitted by law, NPS disclaims all liability (including for negligence) for any loss, damage or injury resulting from reliance on or use of this information. Read our full disclaimer.
References to brands should not be taken as an endorsement by NPS.
