Patient-perceived self-management tasks and support needs of people with chronic illness: generic or disease specific?

Background: Self-management is widely accepted as an essential component of chronic care. Nevertheless, little is known about patients' perceptions of self-management.

Purpose: This study aims to explore which self-management tasks and support needs people with chronic illness perceive for themselves, and to establish whether these tasks and support needs are disease specific.

Methods: A nationwide representative sample of 2,064 people with chronic disease filled in the Patient Assessment of Self-management Tasks questionnaire.

Results: Many respondents perceive self-management tasks in the daily management of their condition, although few indicate a need for support. Respondents who feel a need for support in one aspect of self-management are likely to feel a need for support in other aspects as well. Type of disease has a small effect on self-management tasks and even smaller on support needs.

Conclusion: Although the self-management tasks patients perceive may be partly disease specific, self-management support does not necessarily need to be disease specific.