Healthy Interactions showcase Conversation Map™ Tools at London Healthcare Innovations Expo

June 19th, 2009

Press Release

Healthy Interactions showcase Conversation Map™ Tools at London Healthcare Innovations Expo

06.11.09, 05:58 AM EDT

BusinessWire - Healthy Interactions will demonstrate the power of its interactive Conversation Map education programme at the Healthcare Innovations Expo at ExCel in London on 18 -19 June.

The Conversation Map tools were launched after the company identified a need to rethink the way healthcare providers were attempting to get people dealing with long-term and complex illnesses to engage with their conditions and re-gain control over their lives. Encouraging better self-management became central to the Conversation Map ethos and its success.

The first Conversation Map programme was launched in Canada in 2005 where Healthy Interactions formed a partnership with the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA). It was later introduced in America where more than 16,700 diabetes healthcare professionals have been trained to use the programme providing sessions for more than 4 million people with diabetes.

Diabetes UK joined forces with Healthy Interactions in 2008 launching the Diabetes Conversation Map tools in conjunction with Lilly UK. In the past year 800 healthcare professionals have been trained to use the programme and have carried out 17,000 sessions helping at least 100,000 people with diabetes gain more control over their condition.

The three (.91m) by five foot (1.52m) Conversation Map tools feature images, information, and exercises designed to be fun and engaging for groups of between three and ten people who are guided through their sessions by a trained healthcare 'facilitator.' Each session focuses on discussion around key areas of the disease or condition, encouraging peer-to-peer debate and aiming to increase awareness and understanding.

The Conversation Map™ tool content is developed with leading disease associations and healthcare professionals to ensure the material meets clinical guidelines and the needs of the people using the programme.

Conversation Map tools are now being rolled out in more than fifty countries across different therapeutic areas, including stroke, MS, cardiovascular disease, obesity, mental health and asthma. During the course of 2009\10, Healthy Interactions will expand into additional areas and address new audiences including programmes for 'Healthy Kids', 'Healthy Men' and 'Healthy Women'. New agreements have been signed with the Parkinson's Disease Society (PDS) and the European Federation of Neurological Association (EFNA).

SOURCE: Healthy Interactions

Simon Vane Percy on +44 (0) 1737 821890 or +44 (0) 7710 005910 or visit: www.healthyinteractions.com