The Integration of Chronic Illness Self-Management

Abstract

Self-management is crucial for people living with chronic diseases, but the actual process of integrating self-management has not been explored in depth. In this article, we investigate the integration of self-management into the lives of people with chronic illness. In this longitudinal study, we used an interpretive description approach. Twenty-one individuals were interviewed regularly during the first 3 years after they were diagnosed with a chronic condition. We found self-management integration to be an ongoing process that included four phases: seeking effective self-management strategies, considering costs and benefits, creating routines and plans of action, and negotiating self-management that fits one's life. The participants managed the phases according to their context, e.g., illness experience, life situation, personal beliefs, and social support. Health care providers should therefore facilitate self-management integration by providing support that is adjusted to the person's phase of self-management integration and life context.

Coping strategies employed by women with endometriosis in a public health-care setting

“…Most of these strategies were not recommended by doctors but learned by participants either through research or experimentation. Participants appeared to fit into Audulv et al’s (2012) final stage of coping with their chronic illness as they had elicited information, weighed up the costs and benefits of coping strategies, created routines and reported being able to fit self-management into their daily lives. The patients in the study can also be characterised as proactive managers as they reported attempting to adopt healthy lifestyles in order to cope (Collins et al, 2009).…”

Self-management interventions for young people with chronic conditions: A systematic overview

“…Some SMI involved parents in the intervention or assessed family interaction or conflict. However, the notion that social context deserves attention when researching selfmanagement, has only recently gained more attention [14,17,19,[117][118][119][120].…”

The over time development of chronic illness self-management patterns: a longitudinal qualitative study

“…All people are influenced – positively and negatively—by their social networks, health-care providers and society as a whole. Each of these can provide both resources for and barriers to self-management [3]. Barriers and facilitators for self-management have been described in a large body of research.…”