Energy-Limiting Conditions (ELCs) – Toolkit and Guidance
This is a guide for nurses and Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) working with people living with Energy-Limiting Conditions (ELCs).
The term Energy Limiting Condition (ELC) describes shared experiences across long-term health conditions in which energy impairment and debilitating fatigue are key symptoms. This is more than just being tired. Energy impairment is usually physical and cognitive and has significant negative impacts on all areas of a person’s life.
This toolkit includes a range of resources and is divided into different sections. See below for quick links to different parts of the toolkit.
Section 1. Using the Energy-Limiting Conditions Toolkit
Purpose of the toolkit
This toolkit is designed to support healthcare professionals and those working in health and care to better understand and respond to the needs of people living with ELCs, enabling more compassionate, inclusive and effective care. Drawing on research findings and the lived experience of people with ELCs [6.12; 3; 8], the focus is on providing practical, achievable guidance relevant to clinical practice alongside locally actionable considerations for service delivery and everyday patient experience. It is intended to support small, meaningful changes that individuals and teams can make within existing roles, resources and settings.
Who the toolkit is for
This toolkit is for all healthcare professionals who work with people living with an Energy Limiting Condition, with a focus on supporting nurses, allied health professionals (especially occupational therapists and physiotherapists) and psychotherapists, who were identified through this work as playing a particularly significant role in ongoing ELC care. It may also be useful for educators involved in teaching or training healthcare professionals.
In addition, the section on making services more accessible [5] is likely to be of particular interest to service managers, administrators and those involved in service design.
How to use the toolkit
The toolkit is designed as a flexible self-directed learning resource. It can be used for individual reflection, team discussion, or as part of local training and professional development, and to support the practical application of learning in clinical practice and service delivery.
This toolkit is not a replacement for condition-specific clinical guidance or a self-management resource for patients.
What the toolkit contains (click on the title of each section to go directly there).
The toolkit includes:
- Section 2 – An overview of what energy-limiting conditions are
- Section 3 – Evidence on where and why ELC care can go wrong, and the impact on people with ELCs for individuals
- Section 4 – Practical, trauma-informed principles to support people with ELCs in practice
- Section 5 – Guidance on making services more accessible
- Section 6 – Research, policy and practice resources
Share this toolkit
If you would like to share this toolkit with others, you can use the button below to share it with them or show them the QR code below.
