Living with Long Term Conditions Scale

The Living with Long-Term Conditions (LwLTCs) scale is a validated self-report questionnaire that captures the holistic experience of living with one long term conditions. Rather than focusing solely on symptoms or clinical outcomes, the scale explores how individuals adapt, manage, and integrate their condition into everyday life.

Developed with people living with long-term conditions at its core, the LwLTCs Scale provides valuable insights that can support both person-centred care and research aimed at improving health and wellbeing.

Why use the LwLTCs Scale?

For Clinical practice. The scale helps health and social care professionals to:

• better understand an individual's experience of living with a long-term condition
• identify areas where additional support may be needed
• inform personalised care planning
• facilitate referrals to appropriate healthcare, social care, and voluntary sector services
• monitor changes over time and evaluate the impact of support provided

For research. The scale can be used to:

• evaluate health and care interventions

• explore patient-reported outcomes

• measure the impact of support services

• advance understanding of the lived experience of long-term conditions

• generate evidence to inform policy and practice

What does the scale measure?

The LwLTCs Scale consists of 20 items across five key domains that reflect the process of living with a long-term condition:

• Acceptance – 3 items

• Coping – 5 items

• Self-management – 4 items

• Integration – 4 items

• Adaptation – 4 items

Each item is scored on a scale from 0 (Never or nothing) to 4 (Always or a lot).

• Higher scores indicate more positive experiences of living with a long-term condition.

• Each domain is scored independently.

• Domain scores help identify specific areas where additional support may be beneficial.

Available languages

The LwLTCs Scale is currently available in:

• English: Validated for use across English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States, and other English-speaking settings.
• Spanish: Available for use across Spanish-speaking countries, including Spain and countries throughout Latin America.

Additional translations and cross-cultural validation studies are currently underway, further supporting the scale's international applicability and expanding its use in research, clinical practice, and service evaluation worldwide.

Supporting person-centred care and research worlwide

By focusing on what matters most to people living with long term conditions, the LwLTCs Scale provides a meaningful way to understand individual experiences, guide personalised support, and evaluate interventions that improve quality of life.

For more information about the scale, or to request one for use in clinical practice or research, please contact us.

Email us to request a scale