EMBOSS A Person-centred Integrated-care for Chronic Diseases in Patients of Low Socio Economic Status

Plain-language summary

People of low socio economic status (SES) more often than others suffer from chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or coronary diseases. Compared to others People of low SES more often have to deal with multiple diseases (multimorbidity) and experience worse health outcomes. The health literacy of people of low SES is often low. Current chronic disease management programs focus on reducing the burden of a single disease by prescribing medication, protocoled monitoring routines, or lifestyle advice. However, the effectiveness of these interventions is low in people with low SES, as the interventions insufficiently take into account the specific problems and needs of this (multimorbid) population. A person-centered and integrated-care approach, that puts the patient at the center of care instead of the disease and in which care is tailored to the individual patient with chronic disease(s), seems to be more appropriate, but only when low SES people are closely involved in the development, testing, and evaluation of such an approach. Also, certain preconditions should be met, such as training of specific knowledge and skills of the healthcare professionals involved. In the EMBOSS project, the investigators will develop, test, evaluate, and implement a person-centered integrated-care approach for and in close collaboration with people with low SES who have one or more chronic diseases. Thus, the EMBOSS study will have the potential to reducing health disparities in this group, to broadening the action perspectives of general practitioners and practice nurses for an increasing diverse patient population and to a better fit of lifestyle interventions in people of low SES.

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