Introduction:
For the week three assignment in unit one, we were instructed to create three definitions of a relatively complex term used in our profession for audiences that may not have experience in this field. We learn to understand the importance and role of definitions in technical writing as they should be directed towards specific audiences.

As I just transitioned into the computer science area with little prior experience, I decided to select a term from my healthcare and research experience – “self-management.” The intended audience for this definition are patients who are just learning about this term from their healthcare who are stressing the importance of self-management.

In my assignment below, I outline three different types of definition for the term self-management. Firstly, I define self-management with a parenthetical definition, which uses a more familiar synonym or a clarifying phrase in parentheses right after the term. The second definition is a sentence definition which provides further elaboration than the parenthetical definition by also providing the broader class and distinguishing features of the term. Finally, I define the term self-management with an expanded definition that includes the operating principles, required conditions, and negation.

 

Parenthetical Definition:
For patients with chronic diseases, self-management (engaging in personal health care activities) is a fundamental but often neglected component in models of patient care.

 

Sentence Definition:
Self-management involves patients actively participating in a variety of activities such as being physically active and adhering to a treatment plan, which can help lessen the physical and emotional impact of their illness.

 

Expanded Definition:

History:
The term self-management first originated in the mid 1960s by Thomas Creer. During his work with chronically ill children at the Children’s Asthma Research Institute and Hospital, he and his colleagues coined the term and started using it in conjunction with their pediatric Asthma program (Lorig & Holman, 2003). They felt the term best described a patient who was an active participant in treatments. Since then, the term has evolved to include more specific activities and how self-management can benefit patients.

 

Operating Principles (how it is used):
Self-management is a crucial component of successful chronic disease care (Wagner, 1997). If self-management is prioritized, patients can improve their health outcomes by understanding how their day-to-day activities correlate with their symptoms. The contextualized health information learned from this process will provide them with a baseline to determine whether they need to seek medical attention and inform their decisions about daily activities. As an example, a patient can pace their housework duration and intensity if they are aware of how much pain and fatigue they normally experience after a usual’s day work.

 

Required conditions:
Active self-management is a difficult process to maintain daily. In the context of a patient’s life, they can become overwhelmed from their fluctuating symptoms and day-to-day activities (Leese et al., 2018). To make matters worse, it is easy for a patient to become disengaged from self-management because of a frustration from managing their health on a trial-and-error basis (Kendall et al., 2011).

Consequently, active self-management requires a multifaceted approach that provides support in terms of knowledge, skill development, and guidance from health professionals to provide timely advice and motivational support. For example, patients need to have a mix of interactive tools that can help them track their flareups, such as from phone apps or a simple calendar diary as seen in Figure 1. These tools would then be combined with help from health professionals who can provide them with feedback on how to improve and motivational support for when they are feeling demoralized.

Figure 1. A Calendar Diary Template for Tracking Symptoms
(Source: Pinecone Papers, Tracking Your Flare Symptoms in your Bullet Journal)

Negation:
Self-management is not a process where patients ignore their health and activities that could improve their symptoms. For example, self-management does not involve patients neglecting daily physical activity and their medical treatment plans.

Unfortunately, due to the reasons outlined in the required conditions section, research has shown that majority of patients do not meet the minimum recommended level of moderate to physical activity (MVPA), despite the ample evidence highlighting how important physical activity is in reducing symptoms (Haskell et al., 2007). Some of the proven benefits of physical activity are shown in figure 2 below.

Figure 2. The Benefits of Physical Activity
(Source: Eufic, 9 Proven Benefits of Physical Activity)

 

References:

Haskell, W. L., Lee, I. M., Pate, R. R., Powell, K. E., Blair, S. N., Franklin, B. A., Macera, C. A., Heath, G. W., Thompson, P. D., & Bauman, A. (2007). Physical activity and public health: updated recommendation for adults from the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 39(8), 1423–1434.

Kendall, E., Ehrlich, C., Sunderland, N., Muenchberger, H., & Rushton, C. (2011). Self-managing versus self-management: reinvigorating the socio-political dimensions of self-management. Chronic illness, 7(1), 87–98.

Leese, J., Macdonald, G., Kerr, S., Gulka, L., Hoens, A. M., Lum, W., Tran, B. C., Townsend, A. F., & Li, L. C. (2018). ‘Adding another spinning plate to an already busy life‘. Benefits and risks in patient partner-researcher relationships: a qualitative study of patient partners’ experiences in a Canadian health research setting. BMJ open, 8(8), e022154.

Lorig, K. R., & Holman, H. (2003). Self-management education: history, definition, outcomes, and mechanisms. Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, 26(1), 1–7.

“Tracking Your Flare Symptoms in your Bullet Journal.” Pinecone Papers. https://pineconepapers.com/tracking-flare-symptoms-bullet-journal/

Wagner E. H. (1997). Managed care and chronic illness: health services research needs. Health services research, 32(5), 702–714.

“9 Proven Benefits of Physical Activity.” Eufic. https://www.eufic.org/en/healthy-living/article/9-proven-benefits-of-physical-activity