Italian Consensus Statement on Patient Engagement in Chronic Care: Process and Outcomes

Patient engagement has been recognized as a key priority in chronic care. However,scholars agree that guidelines are needed to ensure effective patient engagement strategies. Tothis end, a Consensus Conference process was promoted with the following methodological steps:(1) extensive literature review about patient engagement initiatives in chronic care; (2) a stakeholderssurvey to collect best practices and (3) workshops with experts. On the basis of the informationcollected, a consensus statement was drafted, revised, and finalized by a panel of select renownedexperts. These experts agreed in defining engagement as an eco-systemic concept involving multipleactors all of which contribute to influence patients’ willingness and ability to engage in chronic care.Moreover, experts recommended, whenever possible, to adopt standardized instruments to assess engagement levels and related unmet needs. Then, experts strongly advised appropriate trainings for healthcare professionals about patient engagement strategies. Furthermore, the importance of promoting healthcare professionals’ wellbeing has been advocated. Family caregivers, as well as patients’ organizations - should be trained and engaged to increase the effectiveness of interventions dedicated to patients. Finally, experts agreed that digital technologies should be considered as acrucial enhancer for patient engagement in chronic care