Table 1 Characteristics of self-care, self-management, and supported self-management in cancer.
From: Empowering people affected by penile cancer: towards a model for supportive self-management
Concept | Who is involved | Goals or targets | What is involved |
|---|---|---|---|
Self-care | • Universal for all • Ranges from the individual person or patient to families inclusive of communities in collaboration with healthcare professionals and healthcare systems • However, healthcare professionals need not be involved | • Optional to have goals and targets • Examples: Prevention of disease and accidents, reduce illness and restoration of health • Improvement in the existing state of health, which may or may not be associated with a long-term condition • Changes in lifestyle, maintenance of optimal levels of health • Recovery from minor ailments and following discharge from hospital | • May include doing nothing • Taking responsibility for health for self, children, family and helping others • Asserting control • Managing emotions • Goal attainment and behavioural change |
Self-management | • More focused on cancer networks in health • Patients, peers, healthcare practitioners and support networks • Includes healthcare professional as collaborator with the person with the cancer | • Desirable to have goals and targets • Minimization of the impact of cancer on physical health status and functioning; coping with the psychological effect of cancer and treatments • Minimization of symptom frequency, bother, burden, and distress • Patients participate in decision-making about treatment, gaining a sense of control over their lives • Initiation or maintenance of access to health services and practitioners • Targeting change in behaviour, existing and new behaviours | • Active participation by a person with cancer • Symptom management • Behavioural tasks • Individual or group peer tasks • Medical management • Self-regulation/self-monitoring of condition • Lifestyle change and education |
Supported self-management | • Highly focused and complex networks • Patients, practitioners and the healthcare system • May require a refocus of health practitioner activity | • Essential to have goals and targets • Service development and cancer disease management improvement, including the provision of supported self-management, shared decision support, delivery system redesign, and clinical information systems (including capture patient-reported outcome measures) • Development of new skills in practitioners (e.g. problem-solving and goal-setting), with the patient as a key resource • Patient empowerment, activation and education • Increasing self-management skills • Cognitive symptom management, positive behaviour changes | • Emphasizes distinct collaboration between patient, healthcare practitioner and healthcare system, in standardized, programmatic interventions to improve self-management behaviour |
