LearnLong Institute – Center on Patient Engagement and Learning (CPEL) focuses on learning and engagement of patients in managing chronic conditions. According to the National Health Council, chronic diseases, including chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs) affect approximately 45% of adult Americans (approximately 117 million people) and 8% of children under the age of 18. In the U.S. annually, seven out of ten deaths and 75% of health care costs are attributed to chronic conditions.
Chronic diseases, generally, defy a single cause or clear onset and symptoms, and can wax and wane during the course of illness. The chronicity, lack of curative therapies and interventions, and the limited understanding of the cause(s) and exacerbating factors, the emotional stress and impact on other aspects of life create a complex situation for patients. Dealing with this complexity demands learning. This learning not only includes formal learning through patient education programs, but more importantly the experiential learning of the patients through living with the disease day in and day out, and the processes that allow for new interpretations and reframing of illness experiences.
The mission of the Center on Patient Engagement and Learning (CPEL) is to utilize its resources and expertise to collaborate with patients and health organizations, connect patients to other patients for the purpose of facilitating exchanges of experiential knowledge and expertise, establish pilot projects within communities focusing on the practice of managing specific chronic illnesses, conduct research in the areas of patient learning, engagement, and patient-centered practices, and collaborate with health professionals in clinical settings.
CPEL invites patients, scholars, researchers, health professionals and organizations to join in these endeavors. There are several ways that individuals, groups, and institutions can become involved with LearnLong Institute and The Center on Patient Engagement and Learning. LearnLong Institute is a 501c3 nonprofit membership organization and educational think-tank which allow those interested to establish annual or lifetime memberships and select the Center on Patient Engagement and Learning (CPEL) as a primary scholarship/ practice area. Selections will be confirmed on a rolling basis and information about current and future projects for participation will be communicated by the leaders assigned within the Center and across LearnLong Institute for Education and Learning Research (LIFR).