Explain chronic disease management at the individual level

Due to the long-term, often irreversible nature of chronic illness, the majority of the burden of treatment and care involves patients themselves successfully managing the effects and symptoms of their illness on a routine basis. This is referred to as self-management. Self-management strategies vary according to illness, as does the amount of time and resources needed for each patient to successfully manage and control their symptoms. Self-management is widely recognized as an essential component of effective chronic disease management. These strategies must be learned and practiced; as such, the health care system has acknowledged the importance of helping patients develop the proper skills needed to accomplish these management tasks. For management and control of disease symptoms to be effective, patients must be confident in their ability to perform self-care and monitoring activities with or without assistance, a notion referred to as self-efficacy.?