Abstract
Long-term health conditions currently account for more than half of the global disease burden, and have been described as a primary challenge for 21st century healthcare systems [1,2]. It is fashionable in both research and clinical practice to use the term self-management to describe ways to support patients with long-term health conditions to manage their care in the community. Supporting patients in self-management has been found to be consistently associated with improved health outcomes in a variety of health conditions [3–6]. The evidence that self-management improves health outcomes in long-term conditions is clear in some patient groups such as those with asthma or diabetes, and less clear in others such as those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or heart failure [7]. This naturally gives rise to the question whether self-management is relevant for some conditions but not others, or that some conditions lend themselves better to this type of intervention or support.