[Care as a cross-cutting element in the health care of complex chronic patients].
The care of people who live with chronic diseases is currently a priority on the roadmaps of all health care services. Within these strategies, there needs to be a specific approach required for a population group that is defined by having multiple diseases and the associated comorbidity. This group is especially vulnerable, fragile, and require very complex care, which uses up a high quantity of social health resources. The estimated prevalence in Spain is 1.4% in the general population, and approximately 5% in people over 64 years. The social and healthcare of this population requires a person-centered approach, as a paradigm of caring for the patients and not of the diseases. The models must leap from the segmented approach to diseases to a holistic and integrated vision, taking into account the social and psycho-affective situation, the experience of the patient, the family context, and the approach of human experience/response that these processes produce. The health professionals need support tools that can guide them and help in making clinical decisions in this population group. The clinical practice guidelines for the approach of patients with co-morbidity and multiple diseases have numerous limitations. Expert recommendations in this sense, lead us to a multidisciplinary approach, with self-care and self-health management as a cross-cutting element of healthcare.
Unidad de Apoyo a la Investigación, Servicio Madrileño de Salud, Gerencia de Atención Primaria, REDISSEC, Madrid, España. Electronic address: milagros.rico@salud.madrid.org.
Milagros
M
Rico-Blázquez
Servicio de Enfermería, Comarca de Araba, Osakidetza, Vitoria, España.
Sheila
S
Sánchez Gómez
Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, REDISSEC, Barcelona, España.
Carmen
C
Fuentelsaz Gallego
D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012648:Self Care
Autocuidado; Chronic disease; Enfermedad crónica; Enfermería; Guía de práctica clínica; Nursing; Practice guidelines; Self-care