To explore how patient engagement is experienced across the cardiovascular care pathway among individuals at very high cardiovascular risk in Italy, with a focus on psychosocial, relational, and organizational factors through qualitative methods.
Approach:
Key Findings:
Engagement is a dynamic process influenced by emotional disruption, therapeutic understanding, communication quality, and continuity of care, which are critical for improving patient outcomes.
The transition from hospital to home is the most fragile phase, marked by insufficient guidance and limited psychological support, indicating a need for enhanced discharge protocols.
Participants reported territorial differences in access to specialist referral, rehabilitation, and supportive services, highlighting disparities in care.
Common themes included inadequate doctor-patient communication, limited psychosocial support, caregiver burden, and the supportive role of patient associations, which are essential for fostering engagement.
Interpretation:
Patient engagement in cardiovascular care is shaped by individual, relational, and organizational factors, underscoring the need for improved discharge preparation and follow-up to enhance patient outcomes.
Limitations:
Limited qualitative evidence on patient engagement across the cardiovascular care pathway, which may restrict the applicability of findings.
Geographical variability in service availability may affect generalizability, necessitating caution in applying results to broader contexts.
Conclusion:
Strengthening discharge preparation, follow-up continuity, psychosocial support, and equitable access to rehabilitation may help sustain engagement over time, ultimately improving health outcomes.
Plasma proteomic models of more than 40 cell types were associated with incident Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cancer, and mortality across three large cohorts.
