Evivo course for vulnerable groups

Basis

Poor health literacy and language skills make it difficult for people to access healthcare, even if they suffer from chronic conditions. This applies particularly to socio-economically disadvantaged migrants with a low level of education. With the introduction of Evivo, a peer-led course on self-management support for people with chronic conditions, course providers have observed significant interest amongst people with a migration background. An exploratory study found that the course can also be completed by participants with a moderate knowledge of German and that it offers significant benefits. The task now is to investigate the extent to which the programme needs to be adapted to the requirements of migrants in order to make it accessible to vulnerable groups.

Project

The aim of this practice development project is to make the group- and peer-based Evivo scheme accessible to migrants. The target group includes people who, due to their migration background, face:

Language barriers, due to having very little knowledge of any of Switzerland's national languages
Difficulties with reading and writing
Challenges relating to socio-economic circumstances or a lack of education
Chronic condition(s) and/or disabilities.

Similar international projects carried out to date have failed to provide an answer to the question of the extent to which Evivo can be made available in the local language of the host country and have a positive impact on the health literacy, the self-management (in the case of chronic illness) and, in particular, the integration of people with a migration background. By adapting the course programme with and for migrants, the project is seeking to use this peer-based standard Stanford concept to support these people as regards their health literacy, equal opportunities and ultimately integration.

Based on an exploratory and participatory approach, a new version of the group intervention programme is being developed and put into practice in two pilot courses. To this end, the principles, structures and content of Evivo are being revised, condensed where necessary and adapted in a way that would enable socio-economically disadvantaged migrants in particular to benefit from peer-based self-management support in future. The first results from the evaluation of two pilot courses based on the adapted concept are due to be released in spring 2017.