• Hester van Bommel, Lena H A Raaijmakers, Maria van den Muijsenbergh, Tjard Schermer, Jako S Burgers, Tessa van Loenen, and Erik Bischoff.
• Radboud University Medical Center, Research Institute for Medical Innovation, Department of Primary and Community Care, Nijmegen, Netherlands hester.vanbommel@radboudumc.nl.
• Br J Gen Pract. 2024 Dec 10.

Backgroundeffectiveness of single disease management programs (DMP) in general practice may be limited for patients with low socioeconomic status (SES), as DMPs insufficiently take into account the specific problems and needs of this population. A Person-Centred Integrated Care (PC-IC) approach focusing on patient's needs could address these problems.Aimto explore experiences of patients with (multiple) chronic diseases with regard to the acceptability of a general practice-based PC-IC approach, with a focus on patients with low SES, and to establish which modifications are needed to tailor the approach to this group.Design And Settingin 2021, a 6 month feasibility study in seven general practices in the Netherlands was carried out. The healthcare professionals provided care based on a PC-IC approach to patients with diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases and/or cardiovascular disorders.Methoda qualitative study using focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, and semi-structured telephone interviews in a combined total of 46 patients with chronic diseases and multimorbidity, including 31 patients with low SES.Resultsan overall positive experience of participants with the PC-IC approach was observed. Discussing their health made patients feel being taken more seriously, and provided the opportunity to discuss their life and health concerns. Recommended adaptations of the PC-IC approach for patients with low SES include creating comprehensible materials and offering communication training for healthcare professionals.Conclusionthe PC-IC approach seems helpful for chronic disease patients, provided that it is tailored to their skills and abilities. Several modifications for patients with low SES were suggested.Copyright © 2024, The Authors.

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