Living Well Toolkit resources for clients and clinicians
We developed the Living Well Toolkit following a four year research project, funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand.
The toolkit is a resource for clients living with long-term conditions. We have built on 10 years of research findings listening to what people with long-term conditions want from their healthcare:
- Better communication
- Building on strengths and resources
- Planning for the future.
There are two parts to the Living Well Toolkit
Living Well Toolkit for clients
Do you think you are getting the best out of your healthcare?
We’ve designed the Living Well Toolkit with a lot of help from people with long-term conditions. We’ve listened to how you think healthcare could be better and the ways you think this can be achieved.
The Living Well Toolkit can help you think about your needs and the things you want your health professionals to know about you, your family or your situation.
Sharing this information with your health professionals helps them better understand your needs and customise care to suit you
We’ve seen the toolkit used in lots of different ways. Here are some examples of how others have used it. You can use the toolkit any way you want.
To make sure you get the best out of your healthcare
To learn more about the toolkit, to see what it looks like and how you could use it, check out this introductory video.
Download your free copy of the Living Well Toolkit
Choose any of the following versions:
- Living Well Toolkit (long-form-pdf)
Use this if you want to write your thoughts as you go. - Living Well Toolkit (short-form-pdf)
Use this if you want to think but not write! - Living Well Toolkit (long-form-word)
Use this if you use text to speech applications. - If you would prefer a hard copy, then email us and we’ll post one to you.
Living Well Toolkit for clinicians
We know that good quality healthcare can improve outcomes and the experience of clients with long-term health needs. Clients tell us that person-centred communication, building on their strengths and resources and planning for the future are important aspects of good healthcare and as clinicians, many of us think we do that well. We’ve talked to clients, family and clinicians about ways these processes could be better and have developed, tested and refined some resources that provide prompts about what matters to clients.
“Who is this person and what do they need from me today?”
The question that can help orient us to person-centred care, “Who is this person and what do they need from me today?”
ADAPT principles
As part of our research, we identified the ADAPT principles – five key principles that improve the healthcare experience for clients. Most clinicians who took part in our research found that the prompt card with the central orienting question and the ADAPT principles resonated with their views of person-centred practice and many clinicians found it helpful to remind themselves of these principles before starting a session.
Free downloads
The ADAPT principles work well with the Living Well Toolkit for clients, however the ADAPT principles can also be used in isolation.
The prompt card can be downloaded below. A more in-depth layered resource is also available that gives clinical examples and extracts from our original data.
Video resources
We have also developed some videos that demonstrate contrasting healthcare encounters of a similar clinical interaction. In scenario A, you might recognise common clinical statements and approaches. In scenario B the clinician is attempting to use the ADAPT principles to guide her conversation. Most clinicians recognise elements of their own practice in both videos.
Comments, suggestions or in need of help?
Please contact us with any comments, suggestions or even to share your experience of using the Living Well Toolkit. We would love to hear from you!
Living Well Toolkit project
The Living Well Toolkit is designed to support two-way communication between health professionals and people with a long-term condition.