Chronic Disease Self Management

Why is Chronic Disease Self Management important?

Chronic diseases, such as asthma, osteoarthritis, diabetes and heart disease, are estimated to be responsible for around 80% of the burden of disease and injury in Australia.

Responding to this significant burden of disease requires a shift in health care from a reactive system with a focus on acute care to one that is proactive and which supports the management of chronic disease.  Self-management support is one of a number of elements essential for improvements in the care of people with chronic condition.  It has been identified as one of four key action areas in the Australian National Chronic Disease Strategy (NCDS).

The NCDS, endorsed by Health Ministers’ in November 2005, identified six key directions to improve support for self-management. These are to:

• Encourage health care entry points to identify opportunities to actively promote self-management.
• Support curricula development, education and training strategies for health care providers to gain knowledge and skills to support self-management, so that self-management becomes part of routine clinical practice.
• Ensure that self-management is part of clinical practice through its inclusion in multidisciplinary care planning.
• Promote the active involvement, and research into the barriers to such involvement, of patients and their families and carers in care planning processes.
• Improve the capacity of the peer, disability, and carer support sectors to provide support for self-management.
• Tailor self-management approaches to the needs of target population groups, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people who are socio-economically disadvantaged and young people.

What is Self Management?

Self-management refers to what a person with a chronic disease does to manage their health and well-being. It has been broadly defined as: involving the individual with the chronic condition working in partnership with their families/carers and health professionals so that they can:

• Know their condition and various treatment options;
• Negotiate a plan of care ie. Care plan, and review/monitor the plan;
• Engage in activities that protect and promote health;
• Monitor and manage the symptoms and signs of the condition;
  Manage the impact of the condition on physical functioning, emotions and interpersonal relationships; and,
• Has confidence in their ability to use support services.

The overall aim is for people to be informed, active participants in their health care to maintain health, and prevent or slow the progression of their disease.

What are Self Management Programs?

Self-management programs and interventions include a range of activities, supported by professionals or peer leaders, which aim to achieve one or more of the following outcomes:

• Improvement in healthy lifestyle behaviours
• Improvements in health status; and,
• Reductions in unplanned health service utilisation.

Additional benefits of self-management programs include improved life control and activity, improved resourcefulness and life satisfaction, improved communication with physicians and other health care providers; and enhanced quality in the doctor-patient relationship.

What we are doing to promote Self Management

WA General Practice Network, in partnership with Canning Division of General Practice, the Department of Health WA, and the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing will be implementing patient self management programs across metropolitan Perth, commencing mid October 2007.

This initiative, part of the Australian Better Health Initiative, is in collaboration with metropolitan Divisions of General Practice and will deliver patient self management training to nearly 1,000 people living with chronic conditions.

Useful links on Chronic Disease Self Management.

Australian Better Health Initiative: A joint Australian, State and Territory government initiative.