Evidence Summary for Self-Management Education in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

To systematically summarize domestic and international evidence on self-management education for patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and to provide an evidence base for nurses to deliver health education and guide patient self-management.

The evidence summary adhered to the standards issued by the Fudan University Center for Evidence-based Nursing.Guided by the "6s" evidence pyramid, a top-down search was conducted of evidence related to self-management education in patients with NAFLD. Sources included clinical decision-support tools, guidelines, best practice documents, systematic reviews, evidence summaries, expert consensus statements and randomized controlled trials. The following databases and resources were systematically searched: BMJ Best Practice, Up To Date, PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, CNKI, the Wanfang Database and relevant guideline websites. The search period covered the time from the beginning of the database up to August 2025.

19 articles met the inclusion criteria, comprising 6 guidelines, 4 systematic reviews, 5 expert consensus statements, 2 randomized controlled trials and 2 evidence summaries. Thirty pieces of evidence were generated in five domains: (1) disease monitoring and assessment; (2) weight and nutritional management; (3) exercise and physical activity management; (4) self-monitoring and health education; and (5) social support systems. Most evidence was of moderate-to-high quality and showed good consistency.

The synthesized evidence on self-management education for patients with NAFLD provides a reference for clinical practice. It can support nurses in developing scientific, individualized self-management education plans according to patients' characteristics, thereby improving the quality of long-term disease management and health outcomes.