Health economic evaluations of patient education interventions a scoping review of the literature.

OBJECTIVES: To provide a comprehensive overview of health economic evaluations of patient education interventions for people living with chronic illness. METHODS: Relevant literature published between 2000 and 2016 has been comprehensively reviewed, with attention paid to variations in study, intervention, and patient characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 4693 titles identified, 56 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in this scoping review. Of the studies reviewed, 46 concluded that patient education interventions were beneficial in terms of decreased hospitalization, visits to Emergency Departments or General Practitioners, provide benefits in terms of quality-adjusted life years, and reduce loss of production. Eight studies found no health economic impact of the interventions. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this review strongly suggest that patient education interventions, regardless of study design and time horizon, are an effective tool to cut costs. This is a relatively new area of research, and there is a great need of more research within this field. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: In bringing this evidence together, our hope is that healthcare providers and managers can use this information within a broad decision-making process, as guidance in discussions of care quality and of how to provide appropriate, cost-effective patient education interventions.

A scoping review of the literature on benefits and challenges of participating in patient education programs aimed at promoting self-management for people living with chronic illness.

OBJECTIVE: To give a comprehensive overview of benefits and challenges from participating in group based patient education programs that are carried out by health care professionals and lay participants, aimed at promoting self-management for people living with chronic illness. METHODS: We searched 8 literature databases. Full text articles meeting the inclusion criteria were retrieved and reviewed. Arksey and O'Malley's framework for scoping studies guided the review process and thematic analysis was undertaken to synthesize extracted data. RESULTS: Of the 5935 titles identified, 47 articles were included in this review. The participants experienced the programs as beneficial according to less symptom distress and greater awareness of their own health, improved self-management strategies, peer support, learning and hope. CONCLUSION: A substantial evidence base supports the conclusion that group based self-management patient education programs in different ways have been experienced as beneficial, but more research is needed. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The insights gained from this review can enable researchers, health care professionals, and participants to understand the complexity in evaluating self-management patient education programs, and constitute a basis for a more standardized and systematic evaluation. The results may also encourage health care professionals in planning and carrying out programs in cooperation with lay participants.