The Effectiveness of a Chronic Disease Self-Management Program for Elderly People: a Systematic Review

Elderly population is increasing in Pakistan. Majority of people aged 50 – 64, suffer from two or more chronic conditions. Care of elderly people is sub-optimal. Healthcare system has limited resources to provide healthcare support to elderly people. Thus, there is need to empower the elderly to self-manage their health conditions. Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) is the most widely accepted self-management patient education program. It is designed to help people to gain confidence and skills to better manage their chronic conditions. Evidence of the effectiveness of CDSMP specifically for elderly people aged 60 years and above is lacking. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to determine the effects of the program among chronically ill elderly people.

MEDLINED, CINHAL, EMBASE, PSYINFO, JBI and ASSIA were searched between April and May, 2020 for studies that tested the effects of generic CDSMP. A total of 750 articles were identified, of which 5 were included in the core review (four randomized controlled trials and one quasi-experimental).

Eligible 5 studies yielded 2971 participants (mean aged 60.4 to 76.0 years). Elder people who participated in CDSMP improved their self-efficacy to manage disease in general and to manage symptoms. The effects on health status were mixed. Self-rated health and health distress showed significant improvement. Some health behaviours showed improvement, particularly exercise component showed significant improvement. For health services utilization, there was no improvement.

The result of this review suggests that CDSMP is beneficial for elderly people who attended the structured CDSMP either through a trained care provider or layman. Experimental studies in low and middle income countries, with large sample sizes are suggested to further understand the impact of CDSMP.