Interventions to empower cardiorenal patients: A systematic review

To identify the most effective interventions to empower cardiorenal patients.

A systematic review of the literature has been carried out.

The PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO and Cochrane databases were reviewed, and journals in the field were manually searched between January and February 2020.

Five randomized clinical trials and quasi-experimental studies that met the selection and CONSORT & TREND methodological quality criteria were selected.

The evidence supports that there are no existing interventions aimed at empowering cardiorenal patients. However, the interventions to empower people with chronic kidney disease and heart failure suggest that their integration should address seven domains: patient education, sense of self-management, constructive coping, peer sharing, enablement, self-efficacy and quality of life.

A gap has been revealed in the literature regarding the empowerment of cardiorenal patients. This review provides relevant information to help design, implement and evaluate interventions to empower these patients by describing the strategies used to empower people experiencing both chronic conditions and the tools used for their assessment.

There is a need for further research to design, implement and evaluate a multidimensional intervention that favours the empowerment of cardiorenal patients by using valid and reliable instruments that measure the domains that constitute it in an integrated manner. Interventions aimed at empowering the cardiorenal patient should include seven domains: patient education, sense of self-management, constructive coping, peer sharing, enablement, self-efficacy and quality of life.