Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38429637›Full record

ArticleBMC primary care2024

Self-management support (SMS) in primary care practice: a qualitative focus group study of care professionals' experiences.

Lotte Timmermans, Dagje Boeykens, Muhammed Mustafa Sirimsi, Dominique Van de Velde, Patricia De Vriendt, Peter Decat, Veerle Foulon, Ann Van Hecke, Mieke Vermandere, Birgitte Schoenmakers and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC primary care, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Lotte TimmermansAcademic Centre of General Practice, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7, Box 7001, 3000, Leuven, Belgium. lotte.timmermans@kuleuven.be.
Dagje BoeykensDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Muhammed Mustafa SirimsiCentre for Research and Innovation in Care, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Dominique Van de VeldeDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Patricia De VriendtDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Peter DecatGeneral Practice and Primary Health Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Veerle FoulonClinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Ann Van HeckeUniversity Centre for Nursing and Midwifery, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Mieke VermandereAcademic Centre of General Practice, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7, Box 7001, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
Birgitte SchoenmakersAcademic Centre of General Practice, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7, Box 7001, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
Primary Care Academy

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo support self-management of chronically ill persons, innovative approaches of care practice are being developed. Unfortunately, many self-management supporting interventions struggle to achieve reliable and consistent improvements at various levels (patient, provider and healthcare system level). One possible strategy to facilitate translating theory into practice, is to consider the healthcare professionals' perspective prior to the development of new interventions. An exploration of their knowledge and opinion about barriers and facilitators is necessary before employing any self-management support (SMS) intervention. Therefore, our study aims to explore care professionals' perspectives about SMS within the Flemish primary care setting.

methodsThis study used a qualitative study design to examine SMS in primary care setting. Five focus groups were conducted, grouped into three waves. Participants were healthcare professionals in Flanders representing different disciplines and settings. A maximum variation purposive sampling was used to recruit participants. For the data analysis, the framework of thematic networks by Attride-Stirling was applied.

resultsA total of 34 healthcare professionals participated. Three global themes related to SMS were derived from the thematic analysis: (1) Characteristics, (2) Support strategies, (3) Barriers and facilitators. SMS was characterised as a collaboration-based and person-centred approach. A variety of supporting strategies were mentioned by the focus group participants. Most strategies consisted of informing and educating patients. Complementary to individual strategies, collaborative strategies were deemed necessary to support self-management. Regarding barriers and facilitators, different patient-related factors were identified. Additionally, competencies of healthcare providers and external factors seem to hinder the implementation of SMS in practice.

conclusionsThis focus group study highlights the importance of a collaborative, person-centred approach to SMS in the context of chronic diseases. Our findings point to the need for interventions that raise awareness and address barriers associated with SMS. Since generic SMS does not exist, the road to success is a growth process in which support must be adapted to the individual patient.

Indexed as

Self-ManagementData AnalysisFocus GroupsHumansPrimary Health CareQualitative ResearchHealthcare professionalsPrimary health careQualitative researchSelf-management support

Identifiers

PMID38429637
PMCPMC10908026

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.