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Healthy Interactions and the American Thoracic Society Establish Five-Year Partnership to Improve Patient Education in Respiratory Disease and Smoking Cessation 

Healthy Interactions, a global leader in health education, and the American Thoracic Society, the world's leading professional society for respiratory health, today announced the beginning of a five-year U.S. partnership that will drive the development and distribution of educational programs designed to help patients better manage respiratory disease and overcome tobacco addiction. The agreement represents the first application of Healthy Interactions innovative, patient-centric Conversation Map learning methodology, which has been widely used in the diabetes area, in the arena of respiratory health.

The Conversation Map approach uses the power of small group dialogue and collaborative learning to improve health. Through this method, individuals learn about a disease, recognize how their beliefs or attitudes affect their perception of the disease, and discover ways they can change behavior and improve their management of the disease. Healthy Interactions Conversation Map tools have been widely used in North America since 2005, dramatically improving healthcare professionals' ability to engage patients and support behavior change.

With more than 34 million people in the U.S. who suffer from asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)(1) and 43 million smokers(2), respiratory disease represents a leading cause of premature death and a significant drain on American healthcare resources. Healthy Interactions and the American Thoracic Society are partnering to develop new and powerful educational tools to address the needs of those who suffer from asthma and COPD as well as to help people quit smoking.

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