Self-Management can be defined as:

Supported self-management is the response of health and social care organisations in terms of the services they put in place to enable people to self-manage.

Self-Care and Self-Management are interchangeable definitions, but most often Self-Management is used in the specific context of the management of long-term health conditions, and Self-Care is used in the wider context for the management of general health conditions.

There is no definitive model for the provision of Self-Management support, but there is a growing consensus for it to meet three key objectives. It must:

1. Support both a primary and secondary preventative approach.
2. Use evidence-based approaches that support adults to take control over their own health and wellbeing. Examples of these approaches include face-to-face coaching, online support, telephone coaching and small group self care programmes, websites, smart phone applications and peer networks.
3. Focus on achieving specific measurable outcomes in relation to behavior change.

Know Your Own Health ensure these objectives are met by providing services and solutions through a single point of access, bringing together all the elements needed to successfully integrate self-management support with clinical pathways.

Reference: Self-Care, Advancing the study & understanding of self-care: The need for an integrated approach to supporting patients who should self-manage (J.Phillips: April 2012)