Non-pharmacological symptom self-management in non-malignant chronic disease: A scoping review

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Non-pharmacological symptom self-management in non-malignant chronic disease: A scoping review
 
Creator Farrant, Lindsay Buchanan, Helen Ellis-Smith, Clare Gaunt, Olivia Gwyther, Liz Harding, Richard Krause, Rene Moors, Alexandra Naidoo, Niri Ngcowa, Sonwabiso Nkhoma, Kennedy Park, Jae Eun von Pressentin, Klaus Maddocks, Matthew
 
Subject Primary care; palliative care symptoms; self-management; pain; dyspnoea; fatigue; non-pharmacological; chronic disease; palliative care; rehabilitation
Description Background: Patients with advanced non-malignant diseases experience pain, dyspnoea and fatigue, requiring a rehabilitation approach within palliative care.Aim: To identify components of non-pharmacological interventions for symptom self-management for patients with non-malignant chronic disease.Method: This scoping review identifies: (1) systematic reviews of symptom self-management interventions for breathlessness, pain and fatigue in chronic lung, heart, renal and liver disease; (2) primary studies in low- and middle-income countries to identify intervention components, contextual factors, facilitators and barriers to symptom self-management. Six databases were searched, records exported to Rayyan and deduplicated. Following screening for inclusion, extraction was conducted. We conducted a narrative synthesis of intervention components and implementation factors, and content analysis of barriers and facilitators to interventions.Results: Thirty-one articles were included (21 systematic reviews and 10 primary studies). The populations studied had chronic lung disease (n = 19), heart disease (n = 12), chronic renal disease on dialysis (n = 2) and none had hepatic disease. The three most common intervention components were information, training and rehearsal for practical self-management activities and lifestyle support. Common patient barriers included motivation, adherence and health literacy, while facilitators encompassed knowledge, support and family involvement. The availability of healthcare workers can impact implementation, but remote access options should be considered.Conclusion: Disease and management information for patients and their family members, along with support for home application, form the foundation for effective symptom self-management.Contribution: Symptom self-management for non-malignant chronic diseases is uncommon in low-resource settings. This review outlines the necessary components and implementation considerations.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor National Institute for Health and Care Research University of Cape Town King's College London
Date 2025-11-07
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — Scoping review
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/phcfm.v17i1.5095
 
Source African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine; Vol 17, No 1 (2025); 12 pages 2071-2936 2071-2928
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5095/8808 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5095/8809 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5095/8810 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5095/8816 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5095/8817 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/5095/8811
 
Coverage South Africa; Low-and-middle-income countries 2000 to date adults with non-malignant chronic disease; cardiac, respiratory, hepatic and renal disease
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Lindsay Farrant, Helen Buchanan, Clare Ellis-Smith, Olivia Gaunt, Liz Gwyther, Richard Harding, Rene Krause, Alexandra Moors, Niri Naidoo, Sonwabiso Ngcowa, Kennedy Nkhoma, Jae Eun Park, Klaus von Pressentin, Matthew Maddocks https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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