Re-conceptualising support for self-management of long term conditions Insight 2013

Health service leaders internationally are increasingly seeking to promote effective, safe and efficient care without undue paternalism. The rising prevalence of long-term conditions has strengthened aspirations to involve patients more actively in planning and contributing to the management of their own conditions.

This research aims to develop a relationally theorised, capabilities-based, conceptual analysis of health and social care support for people's self-management of their long term conditions. The analysis will yield both an explicit conceptual model of support for self-management, alongside a set of rich illustrative health and social care scenarios (vignettes).

To ensure the conceptual analysis and model are both relevant and robust, this study will generate a detailed understanding of competing views of good practice, along with rich examples of the practical issues and dilemmas that health professionals negotiate on a daily basis.

The findings from this study will help us to overcome some of the limitations in existing models of collaborative care by providing a clearer and sounder guide to practice, that can offer more nuanced ways of considering the challenges and ethical tensions of clinical practice in the care of people with long-term conditions.

Contact details

For more information about this project, please contact Darshan Patel, Research Manager at the Health Foundation, and Professor Vikki Entwistle, University of Aberdeen.