Building Bridges: Self-management and co-production in the rehabilitation of people with complex disabilities

Since 2013 the Bridges Self-Management approach developed by Professor Fiona Jones has been used to support patients living with stroke, major trauma, brain injury and other complex health conditions in the UK and globally.

The practical implementation of this research has been operationalised through a social enterprise, Bridges Self-Management Limited (BSML). BSML has found that the research equips practitioners to support self-management in people living with long-term conditions, can reduce unnecessary use of health care services, and by doing so improves the confidence and quality of life of clients and client's families.

Practitioners' behaviour has changed as a result of working in a 'Bridges way' and 92% state that Bridges has helped them build better relationships with patients and their families and has made them more able to support patients to achieve meaningful outcomes. Bridges has also impacted service delivery, for example, paediatric service waiting times have decreased from three months to just one.

The research has demonstrated the feasibility of integrating Bridges into the practice of acute and community healthcare teams. Furthermore, research carried out in Otago and Flinders Universities support cultural applicability in New Zealand and Australia.