Background The district nurse has a key role in caring and supporting patients with different kinds of health problems. A personcentered approach in the patient education facilitates for the patient to participate in self-care and management of the illness. Aim The aim of the study was to examine patients’ illness perceptions and management of their illness. Method Nine patients who has either hypertention, type 2 diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed by qualitative content analysis with an inductive and deductive approach. Results The results were presented from Leventhal´s five dimensions in The Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation: identity, time-line, consequence, cause and control. The Participants´ describings were formulated into ten categories: the illness is present, mental image, cognitive coping, illness duration, daily impact, behavioral coping, thoughts about cause, coping strategy, meaning of the treatment and coping - seeking social support. Conclusion This study showed that there are different coping strategies to manage illness: The participants used distancing, accepting responsibility, planful problem solving, positive reappraisal and/or seeking social support