Promoting patient self-management

For the increasing numbers of people living with long-term conditions, the ability to manage their condition from day to day can minimise its effect on their lives, slow progression and reduce risk of complications, exacerbations or recurrences. This can include for conditions such as COPD, leg ulcers, asthma and diabetes.

Patient self-management can only be achieved through a partnership between patients and health professionals, who must empower their patients by ensuring they understand their condition and how to manage it. Nurses working with patients who have long-term conditions must develop strategies that meet the specific needs of their target population, but also take account of issues such as educational level, cultural factors and access to resources.

This award is open to individual nurses or teams working in the NHS or independent sector and aims to recognise initiatives addressing patients’ ability to manage their own conditions and understanding of when to seek professional help.

Examples might include initiatives to:

• Improve patient’ understanding of their condition and improve adherence to self-management principles
• Develop resources or services to support specific patient groups or self-management strategies
• Involve patients in developing self-management strategies in order to ensure they are fit for purpose

Each entry will be judged against the following criteria:

• Innovation: originality of the idea
• Value: impact of the initiative on patient care and/or service effectiveness
• Patient focus: evidence that patient/service user need was central to the work
• Collaboration: evidence of the involvement of other professionals, services and/or patients in the project
• Clinical effectiveness: data demonstrating how this initiative drives clinical enhancements
• Leadership: evidence of entrants championing their innovation in their organisation or more widely
• Adaptability: ideas that could be adapted for use elsewhere in entrants’ organisations or other organisations
• Sustainability: initiatives that can be embedded within organisations to operate without the input of the people who developed them

If you are shortlisted for this award, and with coronavirus conditions permitting, you will be invited to attend our Covid-19 secure offices to present to the judges on Thursday 9 September 2021. The shortlist will be informed if there are any changes to the final judging process.

Take a look at what our 2019 winner had to say about winning this award: