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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Pharmacoepidemiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1426777
This article is part of the Research Topic Emerging Trends in Real-World Pharmacoepidemiology: 2023 View all 9 articles

Exploring Medication Self-Management in Polypharmacy: A Qualitative Systematic Review of Patients and Healthcare Providers Perspectives

Provisionally accepted
Ran Jin Ran Jin 1,2Yan C. Liu Yan C. Liu 3Hao J. Chen Hao J. Chen 3Jiao M. Cui Jiao M. Cui 3Bo Xu Bo Xu 3Ping Yuan Ping Yuan 3Lu Chen Lu Chen 1,2*
  • 1 School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
  • 2 Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing, China
  • 3 Department of Neurosurgery, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Nanjing, Liaoning Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Purpose Polypharmacy presents many challenges to patient medication self-management. This study aims to explore the self-management processes of medication in polypharmacy from the perspectives of both patient and healthcare provider, which can help identify barriers and facilitators to effective management. Methods A systematic review of qualitative studies was performed by searching seven databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and MEDLINE, from their establishment until August 2024. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool was employed to evaluate the quality of the studies included. The extracted data were then analysed thematically and integrated into The Taxonomy of Everyday Self-management Strategies (TEDSS) framework. Result A total of 16 studies were included, involving 403 patients and 119 healthcare providers. Patient management measures were mapped into TEDSS framework, including categories such as medical management, support-oriented domains and emotional and role management. Conclusion Enhancing patients' proactive health awareness, improving medication literacy, balancing lifestyle adjustments with medication therapy, dynamically reviewing and optimizing medications, strengthening patients' social support networks, and helping patients integrate medication management into their daily life are the key elements that can effectively assist patients in self-managing their medications. Future interventions to improve patient medication selfmanagement ability should be designed for these issues. This study was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO), with the registration number CRD42024524742.

    Keywords: Polypharmacy1, self-management2, Health System3, qualitative4, Systematic Review5

    Received: 02 May 2024; Accepted: 28 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Jin, Liu, Chen, Cui, Xu, Yuan and Chen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lu Chen, School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.