CIESAL researcher participates in European project
6/06/2021CIESAL researcher Javier Pérez-Bracchiglione has co-authored an important scoping review on self-management interventions for chronic diseases.
This work reviewed systematic reviews exploring the perspectives of patients, caregivers, and professionals on the processes or interventions related to self-management, or on their different health states.
The increasing burden of chronic diseases on healthcare and society has become a significant concern over the past decade. A response to this challenge requires moving towards more patient-centred strategies. One of the main components of this is self-management.
The review had two main objectives: to summarise the preferences and experiences of patients and their caregivers (informal caregivers and healthcare professionals) with self-management in four chronic diseases and to identify and describe the relevant outcomes for self-management interventions from these perspectives. The chronic diseases reviewed were type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart failure.
148 reviews were included and 12 main themes were identified. Four described the self-management experience itself (disease progression, self-management behaviours, social support, and interaction with health professionals), four addressed the factors that influence self-management (access to healthcare, costs for patients, culturally defined roles and perceptions, and health knowledge), and four others referred specifically to the experience of self-management interventions (perceived benefit of the intervention, individualised care, sense of community with peers, and ease of use of equipment for self-management).
Study conclusions
The review considered the perspectives of patients and their carers on the self-management process and interventions. These were influenced by the perceived benefit of the intervention, the sense of community with peers, the usability of the intervention, and the level of individualised care. The study findings can inform the selection of patient-important outcomes, decision-making processes, including the formulation of recommendations, and the design and implementation of self-management interventions.
The research took place within the framework of the (COMPAR-EU) project, which will continue to address these topics in greater depth. This type of study is part of a line of research into the values and preferences of patients, which today is a key element in the formulation of recommendations for clinical practice.