Looking after yourself: Clinical understandings of chronic-care self-management strategies in rural and urban contexts of the United Kingdom and Australia.

Objectives: This article reports on the outcomes of two similar projects undertaken during 2011-2012 in Australia (Rural Northern New South Wales) and the United Kingdom (Urban Northern United Kingdom) that sought to identify the strategies that health professionals employ to actively involve patients with chronic conditions in the planning and delivery of their care. In particular, this study explored understandings and contexts of care that impacted on the participants' practices. This study was informed by the global shift to partnership approaches in health policy and the growing imperative to deliver patient or client-centred care.