CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE APPLICABILITY OF CONTINUOUS CARE MODEL IN THE CARE OF CHRONIC PATIENTS

One of the native models of care that designed to increase self-care, adherence and performance of chronic patients is Continuous Care Model. The aim of this study is to critically evaluate the applicability of the Continuous Care Model in the care of chronic patients.
In this descriptive study, 28 interventional articles in the field of continuous care model that had been published during the past 10 years, were evaluated. The instrument was the articles applicability check list in which its validity and reliability had been confirmed. We used the SPSS ver. 16 and descriptive statistics for data analyses.
The compliance with the applicability criteria among 28 articles were discussion about the application of findings in clinical practice and future research, 39.3%; explanation of the application of the findings, 39.3%; lack of exaggeration about findings, 67.9%; application of theory in the research findings, 100%; recommendation, 64.3%; limitations, 46.4%; lack of clear conclusion, 53.6%; identifying the clinical applicability, 67.9%; presenting the clinical applicability based on the exact findings, 57.1%.
The analysis of results demonstrating studies in which used the continuous care model as a theoretical framework did not completely fulfill the applicability criteria. Three important aspect of research application must be considered when using this model of care, including research, management and education.