Barriers and Facilitators in the Implementation of Prevention Strategies for Chronic Disease Patients—Best Practice GuideLines and Policies’ Systematic Review

Abstract

Visits of chronically ill patients account for 80% of primary care consultations. Approximately 15–38% of patients have three or more chronic diseases, and 30% of hospitalisations result from the deteriorating clinical condition of these patients. The burden of chronic disease and multimorbidity is increasing in combination with the growing population of elderly people. However, many interventions found to be effective in health service studies fail to translate into meaningful patient care outcomes across multiple contexts. With the growing burden of chronic diseases, healthcare providers, health policymakers, and other healthcare system stakeholders are re-examining their strategies and opportunities for more effective prevention and clinical interventions. The study aimed to find the best practice guidelines and policies influencing effective intervention and making it possible to personalize prevention strategies. Apart from clinical treatment, it is essential to increase the effectiveness of non-clinical interventions that could empower chronic patients to increase their involvement in therapy. The review focuses on the best practice guidelines and policies in non-medical interventions and the barriers to and facilitators of their implementation into everyday practice. A systematic review of practice guidelines and policies was conducted to answer the research question. The authors screened databases and included 47 full-text recent studies in the qualitative synthesis.