Abstract
The objective of this scoping review is to examine the extent and type of evidence relating to the nurse’s role in the management of chronic disease in a general practice setting. This review forms part of a wider research project taking a case study approach to answer the following research question: what are the continuous professional development needs of nurses who support the structured chronic disease management (CDM) programme in general practice in Ireland?
The concept of integrated care as a means of delivering people-centered, timely, local based care is a global response to the increasing needs of the ageing population and the burden of chronic disease placing increasing demands on health systems worldwide. This strategy places greater demand on general practice (GP) settings to provide more care, nearer to the patient’s home. General Practice Nurses (GPNs), a significant portion of clinical staff in these settings, face an evolving role with increasing demands in expertise and practice advancement. There is a notable absence of research, data, and frameworks to support the education, training, and appraisal of GPNs. This project aims to bridge these gaps by informing the design and development of education and training programmes tailored to these evolving needs of GPNs in Ireland, with a focus on the management of chronic disease.
This scoping review sets out to comprehensively map the literature available on the role of the nurse in chronic disease management in general practice internationally. Peer reviewed research using any methodology, grey literature, reports, policy documents and academic/conference works will all be considered for inclusion along with editorial and opinion pieces in the English language.
This study will employ the five-stage methodological framework suggested by Arksey and O’Malley (2005): identifying the research question, identifying relevant studies, selecting studies, organising the data, compiling, summarising, and presenting the findings. The review will adhere to guidelines outlined in the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) during both the execution and reporting phases.
The search strategy will be guided by the PCC (Participants, Concept, Context) framework and will consider variations in professional titles and nomenclature used internationally in relation to nursing, chronic disease and general practice.
In collaboration with a research librarian, this review will explore the following databases: Embase, PubMed, CINAHL, Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL Plus) and Medline via EBSCO host, Web of Science. Two reviewers will screen and assess study eligibility according to inclusion/exclusion criteria.
Data extraction will include participant details, study concept, context, methods, and key findings. A data summary will identify themes, patterns, and literature gaps. Descriptive summaries and graphical displays will present the results (initial findings will be available prior to scheduled poster presentation date).
Intermediate and final results of this review will be fed back to considered stakeholders including staff in general practice, employers, policy makers, educators and service users. Engagement with persons living with chronic disease who are accessing services including general practice, integrated care settings, self-management support and other primary care services will be pivotal to final findings.