Interested, invested health care providers are a key component in patients’ successful self-management. Self-management includes the activities that patients undertake to cope with their chronic disease, including:

• self-monitoring
• making lifestyle changes
• dealing with social and emotional issues
• working with the health care system

Self-management support is more than patient education. It does include sharing health information but always within a collaborative relationship. For effective self-management support, traditional provider/patient roles must change:

• Providers become teachers, partners, professional supervisors
• Patients become responsible for daily management
• Patients help determine what level and type of support they need
• Patients determine what behavior changes they will make   

Click here for a brief overview of self-management support examples.

FIVE As of self-management support:

• Assess current self-management behaviors, belief, knowledge.
• Advise on health risks/ benefits of change based on understanding/interest.
• Agree on collaboratively-set goals.
• Assist in reaching goals by identifying barriers, strategies, support.
• Arrange a follow-up plan.  

Click here for more information on chronic disease self-management in primary care.

The following is a list of resources and tools to assist health care providers in giving the best possible care to their patients who suffer from chronic conditions.

Online resources

• Helping Patients Manage Their Chronic Condition
  From the California HealthCare Foundation, this is a primer for clinicians who are interested in learning self-management support  techniques. The document includes literature on the effectiveness of self-management support techniques.
• Pediatric Asthma Self-Mangement
  This is a tool kit designed for working with families of children with asthma. to improve and motivate asthma self-management.
• Motivational Interviewing
  Motivational interviewing is a client-centered, directive method for enhancing motivation to change a variety of health behaviors.
  
  • Motivational Interviewing - Diabetes
  • Motivational Interviewing - Weight Loss
• New Health Partnerships
  This site is for health care providers who want to work together as partners to promote collaborative self-management in health care.
• Adult Meducation
  This web site from the American Society on Aging and the Amercian Society of Consultant Pharmacists offers tools to improve medication adherence in older adults, as well as background information on medication adherence.
• Stages of Change
  This web site from American Family Physicians informs on using the "Stages of Change" model with diabetics. More information on Stages of Change.

Tools for success

• Healthy changes plan
  This self-management support tool is useful in guiding patients through the process of setting up specific, achievable goals and making a plan for follow-up. This tool is helpful for those who are new at setting goals. Get instructions on how to use this tool.
• Readiness to Change Ruler and Confidence to Change Ruler
  This tool helps determining a patient's engagement or readiness to change. Read this article from American Family Physician for background.
• Stop Light Tools
  These tools are easy for patients to complete and understand. Medications can be added to the Yellow Zones.
  
  • Diabetes Stop Light
  • Heart Failure Stop Light
  • Asthma Action Plan
• Action Plan for Diabetes
  This two–page action plan from the National Diabetes Education Project gives brief hints on ways to improve ABCs (A1c, Blood pressure, Cholesterol) along with a goal-setting section. This tool is better if patient has experience with goal setting.
  
• Learning How to Change Habits
  Easy-to-read information aimed at diabetics, this document also contains general information for anyone wanting to change. (Available in Spanish.)
• Diabetes Self- Management
  These easy-to-read handouts with graphics are from the American Diabetes Association and focus on self-managing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  (Available in Spanish.)
• Barriers to Physical Activity
  This is a short tool to help identify barriers keeping patients from being physically active. This is helpful if patients are having trouble meeting a goal.
• Weight management questionnaire
  This questionnaire, from the American Medical Association, will assist you and your physician in identifying eating and weight patterns and develop the best weight management plan for you.