New online resource launched to support self management

An online self management support resource centre has been launched by the Health Foundation for commissioners, providers and patients to help them develop self management support within local health economies.

The new digital resource shares important learning about self management from the Health Foundation’s £7.5 million Co-creating Health programme which was established to understand how best to put self management support at the heart of care for people with long term conditions.

Jo Bibby, Director of Improvement Programmes at the Health Foundation said, ‘There is compelling evidence that, for people with long term conditions, self management support reduces anxiety and depression; facilitates a better quality of life and enables people to feel more in control of their health’.

The resource centre provides information and practical resources that can be adopted and adapted locally to enable services and health professionals to develop their own self management support programmes. These are based on the Co-creating Health evidence-based model for self management support that identifies people with long term conditions, health professionals and organisational systems and processes as key components. 

The resources will provide valuable tools for health professionals with easily accessible information about the skills and techniques that are proven to be effective in supporting people to manage their own health. This will enable high performing clinicians to make small changes to their practice which have the potential to make a big difference to patients’ ability to manage their own health.

The principles of the Co-creating Health programme are being implemented in some local COPD, depression, diabetes and musculo-skeletal pain services and the resource centre draws together key learning from the programme and a wide range of national and international evidence.

The resource centre is an excellent resource for those who want to understand and learn more about self management support, how it can be implemented and influence local commissioning.  It includes templates and tools for individual practitioners to use in their consultations and key materials for running self management support workshops for patients.

Jo Bibby said, ‘We believe that health services need to systematically and reliably support people to manage their own health. We don’t believe that the support people receive should depend on where they live or who they see on the day. We need to ensure that the health service share and learn from each other, so that we can continue to share and build on the best from around the country. We hope that the information and tools that the resource centre provide will enable health services and professionals to better support people to manage their own health.’