Self-management is seen as a key competence for Patient Empowerment and emphasises that persons with chronic diseases has the central role in managing their health. All people with chronic conditions self-manage to some extent, although the ability and resources vary across their lifespan and at different stages of the condition.

The Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management Program	The Stanford model was developed at Stanford University, USA in the 1990s and offers a workshop, once a week for six weeks, supporting people with chronic diseases (including diabetes) in their self-management. The peer-led program is based on self-efficacy theory and emphasizes problem solving, decision making, and confidence building.
Diabetes Initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation	The Diabetes Initiative was a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation from 2002 to 2009 and focuses on improving self-management supports for adults with diabetes in primary care and community settings. The program identified eight organizational and eight patient support characteristics of self-management support that can be improved in a primary care setting to ensure that self-management is an integral part of usual care.
The Flinders Program of Chronic Condition Self-Management	The Flinders Program was developed at the Flinders University in South Australia in the 1990s. It focuses on a comprehensive one-to-one self-management assessment and provides health professionals with tools to assess the self-management capability of patients. Additionally, the Flinders Program supports the development of collaborative care plans with the patients.
Behaviour Change Model (The 5As)	The Behaviour Change Model is used to train health professionals in behaviour change counselling. The model is based on five steps that will enable health professionals to understand the beliefs and knowledge that inform a person’s perception of their wellbeing and condition. This can be a basis for discussions with the patient. The five steps are Assess, Advise, Agree, Assist and Arrange.