Headline

Evidence map of patient and family engagement strategies highlights range of evidence on self-management support and shared decision-making.  

Context

Patient and family engagement strategies involve partnerships between patients, families, and providers to improve health outcomes. These strategies can take place at different levels — including directly in care delivery, in organizational design and governing, and in policymaking. Patient and family engagement strategies are increasingly prioritized by health care stakeholders and in policy initiatives. This evidence map, commissioned by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, was designed to better understand the evidence base for strategies to successfully engage patients and family members and improve health outcomes.

Findings

This comprehensive review identified over 130 existing systematic reviews focused on strategies for engaging patients with chronic conditions and their family members. Nearly all of the identified reviews focused on direct patient care strategies, and few or no reviews on health system-level or community policy-level strategies. Patient care reviews addressed shared decision-making and self-management support. While most reviews showed positive effects or potential benefits, this systematic review noted overall inconsistent findings, which the authors suggest is due to the variation among the interventions studies and measures used.

Takeaways

Health system leaders and other stakeholders can use this evidence map to better identify patient and family engagement strategies that have been shown to promote successful engagement and improved health outcomes.