The Role of Family or Community Nurse in Dealing with Frail and Chronic Patients in Italy: A Scoping Review.
Susan ScrimagliaMatteo RicciAlice MasiniMarco MontaltiAndrea ContiClaudia CameddaMassimiliano PanellaLaura DallolioYari LongobuccoPublished in: Geriatrics (Basel, Switzerland) (2024)
Even though Family and Community Nurses (FCNs) were introduced into the Italian healthcare system in 2000, to date, there is a substantial knowledge gap regarding the implementation of these professional figures within the Primary Care (PC) system. This scoping review aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the role of FCNs in managing older adults and the elderly with chronic conditions within the Italian PC system. A search on Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Scopus was conducted including studies published until 7 April 2023. Among 141 potential articles, only 4 met our inclusion criteria. Each of these studies attributed their findings to the presence of FCNs. They reported a significant decrease in the prevalence of several behaviours among patients diagnosed with hypertension, a reduction in metabolic complications among frail patients receiving home enteral nutrition, a decline in hospital readmissions or emergency services utilization among patients >65 years of ages with at least one chronic disease, and, notably, a high level of effectiveness in detecting major cardiovascular events in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices. Despite the effectiveness of interventions managed by FCNs, comprehensive information and research on the integration of this role within the PC setting are still lacking in the Italian healthcare system.
Keyphrases
- healthcare
- primary care
- cardiovascular events
- mental health
- systematic review
- physical activity
- end stage renal disease
- randomized controlled trial
- community dwelling
- coronary artery disease
- newly diagnosed
- risk factors
- health information
- ejection fraction
- public health
- chronic kidney disease
- blood pressure
- prognostic factors
- left ventricular
- emergency department
- cardiovascular disease
- case control
- peritoneal dialysis
- heart failure
- type diabetes
- general practice
- tyrosine kinase
- risk assessment
- atrial fibrillation
- drug induced
- human health
- social media
- acute care