Processes of Self‐Management in Chronic Illness

Abstract

Purpose Self-management is a dynamic process in which individuals actively manage a chronic illness. Self-management models are limited in their specification of the processes of self-management. The purpose of this article is to delineate processes of self-management in order to help direct interventions and improve health outcomes for individuals with a chronic illness. Design Qualitative metasynthesis techniques were used to analyze 101 studies published between January 2000 and April 2011 that described processes of self-management in chronic illness. Methods Self-management processes were extracted from each article and were coded. Similar codes were clustered into categories. The analysis continued until a final categorization was reached. Findings Three categories of self-management processes were identified: focusing on illness needs; activating resources; and living with a chronic illness. Tasks and skills were delineated for each category. Conclusions This metasynthesis expands on current descriptions of self-management processes by specifying a more complete spectrum of self-management processes. Clinical Relevance Healthcare providers can best facilitate self-management by coordinating self-management activities, by recognizing that different self-management processes vary in importance to patients over time, and by having ongoing communication with patients and providers to create appropriate self-management plans.

Associations between neighbourhood support and financial burden with unmet needs of head and neck cancer survivors

“…The importance of supporting existing self-management processes as well as providing training and education to empower survivors of head and neck cancer and other chronic conditions has been highlighted [3], [29]. Our findings suggest that a needs assessment could be useful in developing a care plan for survivors.…”

“…Because of the close proximity of head and neck cancers to areas of anatomy involved in vital functions of daily living such as breathing, eating, drinking, and speaking, many survivors of head and neck cancer experience long-term side-effects of treatment which may be severe (NICE, 2004; [2]). The chronic nature of some of the side-effects experienced by survivors means that they may face a wide range of challenges post-treatment, requiring assistance to adapt, cope with, or manage [3].…”

Intimacy, contraception, and pregnancy prevention in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension: are we counseling our patients?

“…When counseling a woman of CBP to avoid pregnancy, it may be best to start with the defined by a re-evaluation of life with personal growth. 27 Although these tasks are somewhat temporal, there is considerable overlap and interaction. Individuals will vary in how or when processes are prioritized and in what effective coping strategies they adopt.…”

“…27 These areas can be applied to counseling patients with PAH to avoid pregnancy. Schulman-Green identifies several tasks for coping with a chronic illness.…”

Kidney transplant patients’ attitudes towards self-management support: A Q-methodological study

“…The ability to manage the consequences of a (chronic) condition is called selfmanagement [1][2][3]. Self-management can be categorized into three broad categories: focusing on illness needs, activating resources and living with a chronic illness [4] or alternatively medical, role and emotion management [3]. For kidney transplant patients, this entails for example adhering to a complex medication regime, managing bodily symptoms, changing lifestyle, regular appointments with health professionals, adapting to changes in social roles and relationships, managing emotions and developing new perspectives on life [5][6][7][8].…”