Lifestyle Medicine Perspectives from Nursing in Community Care Setting: A Narrative Review

Background/Objectives: Chronic diseases pose a major challenge for healthcare systems, requiring integrated, patient-centered approaches that combine clinical management, prevention, and self-care. Lifestyle Medicine (LM) and lifestyle in general offers complementary frameworks to address these needs. However, the potential integration of LM within community nursing-particularly through the role of Family and Community Nurse (FCN)-has not been comprehensively synthesized. This narrative review aimed to synthesize international evidence on the role of community nursing-particularly FCN-in integrating chronic care management and LM view. Methods: For quality assessment, a narrative review was conducted in accordance with the SANRA criteria to enable the integration of heterogeneous evidence and a comprehensive synthesis of this complex topic. Literature searches were performed in the PubMed-Medline database, and the final screening of references from included studies was used to identify relevant manuscripts. Primary studies published in English over the past ten years were screened and analyzed using the PICOS framework. Sixteen eligible studies were included in the final synthesis. Results: The included studies indicated that nurse-led community interventions in LM view were associated with improvements in self-management, treatment adherence, and selected clinical outcomes, such as blood pressure, glycated hemoglobin, and physical activity levels. Empowerment-based approaches and the use of digital or telehealth tools supported patient engagement and health literacy. At the organizational level, multidisciplinary collaboration, shared protocols, and professional leadership emerged as key factors in sustaining continuity and quality of care, while organizational fragmentation and limited training in behavioral counseling were commonly reported barriers. Conclusions: Community nursing, particularly through FCNs, plays a relevant role in integrating chronic care management and LM approaches, contributing to improved self-management, treatment adherence, and selected clinical outcomes. The evidence highlights the importance of empowerment-based interventions, digital support tools, and multidisciplinary collaboration in enhancing care continuity and patient engagement. Addressing organizational barriers and strengthening behavioral counseling training remain essential to support effective implementation in community settings.