Objective: The objectives of this review are to (1) describe the state of the science of patient activation interventions for the self-management of chronic conditions; (2) identify effective intervention elements for improving patient activation; and (3) compare intervention effectiveness across chronic conditions.
Methods: This systematic review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement (PRISMA). PubMed, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases were searched.
Results: Thirty-two articles published between 2005 and 2019 were identified with intervention elements of self-management, disease management, and education. Meta-analysis of a subset of seven randomized controlled trials (n = 7) that used the 13-item version of the Patient Activation Measure with data collection points at 6 months demonstrated that patient activation did not change significantly in comparison with controls (MD = 0.25, 95 % CI = 0.02-0.47).
Conclusion: Most interventions reported significant improvement in patient activation and were linked to tasks such as regular exercise and monitoring glucose. However, the meta-analysis of RCTs did not confirm these findings.
Practice implications: Patient activation can be assessed and addressed uniformly across all chronic conditions to improve patient engagement in care.
Keywords: Chronic diseases; Patient activation; Self-management.
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