Implementation interventions to enhance patient self-management

Abstract

Enhancing patients’ self-management of health and disease is an important aspect of healthcare delivery. Self-management has traditionally been understood in terms of individual competencies to adhere to medical treatment. Later views of the concept emphasize the role of social support and non-medical aspects of self-management, such as activities that relate to a meaningful life. Self-management support interventions fail to have impact if they are not effectively implemented in routine practice and individuals’ lives. The implementation can be enhanced by a variety of strategies, of which telehealth interventions have attracted most interest in recent years. It needs to be carefully considered how telehealth interventions change the support network of patients, including the relationships with healthcare providers.