WHAT IS SELF-MANAGEMENT?
Self-management incorporates concepts of self-care, adherence, compliance, health behavior change, patient education, and collaborative care. The science of self-management has grown as behavioral science has progressed. There is a greater emphasis on chronic illness care along with the realization that traditional ways of engaging patients has not been effective.
Self-management pushes us to rethink the traditional way of health care: the patient is the primary provider of acute or chronic illness. The purpose of self-management support is to help patients become informed about their conditions and take an active role in treatment, including decisions about whether patients agree to take medications recommended by clinicians, whether patients wish to undergo diagnostic or surgical procedures, and which health-behavior-related goals the patients choose to pursue.
Self-management can be enhanced by the creation of a continuum of self-management training and support services that teach skills related to healthcare regimen, guides behavior change and provides emotional support. It is then that patients and professional staff will be true partners in care.
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