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Self-management support (SMS) in primary care practice : a qualitative focus group study of care professionals’ experiences

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Abstract
Background: To support self-management of chronically ill persons, innovative approaches of care practice are being developed. Unfortunately, many self-management supporting interventions struggle to achieve reliable and consistent improvements at various levels (patient, provider and healthcare system level). One possible strategy to facilitate translating theory into practice, is to consider the healthcare professionals’ perspective prior to the development of new interventions. An exploration of their knowledge and opinion about barriers and facilitators is necessary before employing any self-management support (SMS) intervention. Therefore, our study aims to explore care professionals’ perspectives about SMS within the Flemish primary care setting. Methods: This study used a qualitative study design to examine SMS in primary care setting. Five focus groups were conducted, grouped into three waves. Participants were healthcare professionals in Flanders representing different disciplines and settings. A maximum variation purposive sampling was used to recruit participants. For the data analysis, the framework of thematic networks by Attride-Stirling was applied. Results: A total of 34 healthcare professionals participated. Three global themes related to SMS were derived from the thematic analysis: (1) Characteristics, (2) Support strategies, (3) Barriers and facilitators. SMS was characterised as a collaboration-based and person-centred approach. A variety of supporting strategies were mentioned by the focus group participants. Most strategies consisted of informing and educating patients. Complementary to individual strategies, collaborative strategies were deemed necessary to support self-management. Regarding barriers and facilitators, different patient-related factors were identified. Additionally, competencies of healthcare providers and external factors seem to hinder the implementation of SMS in practice. Conclusions: This focus group study highlights the importance of a collaborative, person-centred approach to SMS in the context of chronic diseases. Our findings point to the need for interventions that raise awareness and address barriers associated with SMS. Since generic SMS does not exist, the road to success is a growth process in which support must be adapted to the individual patient.
Keywords
Family Practice, Qualitative research, Primary health care, Healthcare professionals, Self-management support

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MLA
Timmermans, Lotte, et al. “Self-Management Support (SMS) in Primary Care Practice : A Qualitative Focus Group Study of Care Professionals’ Experiences.” BMC PRIMARY CARE, vol. 25, no. 1, 2024, doi:10.1186/s12875-024-02317-4.
APA
Timmermans, L., Boeykens, D., Sirimsi, M. M., Van de Velde, D., De Vriendt, P., Decat, P., … the Primary Care Academy, [missing]. (2024). Self-management support (SMS) in primary care practice : a qualitative focus group study of care professionals’ experiences. BMC PRIMARY CARE, 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-024-02317-4
Chicago author-date
Timmermans, Lotte, Dagje Boeykens, Muhammed Mustafa Sirimsi, Dominique Van de Velde, Patricia De Vriendt, Peter Decat, Veerle Foulon, et al. 2024. “Self-Management Support (SMS) in Primary Care Practice : A Qualitative Focus Group Study of Care Professionals’ Experiences.” BMC PRIMARY CARE 25 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-024-02317-4.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Timmermans, Lotte, Dagje Boeykens, Muhammed Mustafa Sirimsi, Dominique Van de Velde, Patricia De Vriendt, Peter Decat, Veerle Foulon, Ann Van Hecke, Mieke Vermandere, Birgitte Schoenmakers, and [missing] the Primary Care Academy. 2024. “Self-Management Support (SMS) in Primary Care Practice : A Qualitative Focus Group Study of Care Professionals’ Experiences.” BMC PRIMARY CARE 25 (1). doi:10.1186/s12875-024-02317-4.
Vancouver
1.
Timmermans L, Boeykens D, Sirimsi MM, Van de Velde D, De Vriendt P, Decat P, et al. Self-management support (SMS) in primary care practice : a qualitative focus group study of care professionals’ experiences. BMC PRIMARY CARE. 2024;25(1).
IEEE
[1]
L. Timmermans et al., “Self-management support (SMS) in primary care practice : a qualitative focus group study of care professionals’ experiences,” BMC PRIMARY CARE, vol. 25, no. 1, 2024.
@article{01HR45SA2Y36K23E47ZJX56RAF,
  abstract     = {{Background: To support self-management of chronically ill persons, innovative approaches of care practice are being developed. Unfortunately, many self-management supporting interventions struggle to achieve reliable and consistent improvements at various levels (patient, provider and healthcare system level). One possible strategy to facilitate translating theory into practice, is to consider the healthcare professionals’ perspective prior to the development of new interventions. An exploration of their knowledge and opinion about barriers and facilitators is necessary before employing any self-management support (SMS) intervention. Therefore, our study aims to explore care professionals’ perspectives about SMS within the Flemish primary care setting.
Methods: This study used a qualitative study design to examine SMS in primary care setting. Five focus groups were conducted, grouped into three waves. Participants were healthcare professionals in Flanders representing different disciplines and settings. A maximum variation purposive sampling was used to recruit participants. For the data analysis, the framework of thematic networks by Attride-Stirling was applied.
Results: A total of 34 healthcare professionals participated. Three global themes related to SMS were derived from the thematic analysis: (1) Characteristics, (2) Support strategies, (3) Barriers and facilitators. SMS was characterised as a collaboration-based and person-centred approach. A variety of supporting strategies were mentioned by the focus group participants. Most strategies consisted of informing and educating patients. Complementary to individual strategies, collaborative strategies were deemed necessary to support self-management. Regarding barriers and facilitators, different patient-related factors were identified. Additionally, competencies of healthcare providers and external factors seem to hinder the implementation of SMS in practice.
Conclusions: This focus group study highlights the importance of a collaborative, person-centred approach to SMS in the context of chronic diseases. Our findings point to the need for interventions that raise awareness and address barriers associated with SMS. Since generic SMS does not exist, the road to success is a growth process in which support must be adapted to the individual patient.}},
  articleno    = {{76}},
  author       = {{Timmermans, Lotte and Boeykens, Dagje and Sirimsi, Muhammed Mustafa and Van de Velde, Dominique and De Vriendt, Patricia and Decat, Peter and Foulon, Veerle and Van Hecke, Ann and Vermandere, Mieke and Schoenmakers, Birgitte and the Primary Care Academy, [missing]}},
  issn         = {{2731-4553}},
  journal      = {{BMC PRIMARY CARE}},
  keywords     = {{Family Practice,Qualitative research,Primary health care,Healthcare professionals,Self-management support}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{11}},
  title        = {{Self-management support (SMS) in primary care practice : a qualitative focus group study of care professionals’ experiences}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-024-02317-4}},
  volume       = {{25}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}

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