Advances in Chronic Disease Management, Rehabilitation, and Health Outcomes

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Chronic Care".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 22 September 2026 | Viewed by 731

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
2. Laboratory of Evidence-Based Healthcare, Education and Clinical Protocols, Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
Interests: chronic diseases management; hypertension; heart failure; coronary heart disease; cardiac surgery; mechanical circulatory support; nursing rehabilitation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
2. Laboratory of Evidence-Based Healthcare, Education and Clinical Protocols, Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Hellenic Mediterranean University, 71410 Heraklion, Greece
Interests: evidence-based practice (EBP); precision nursing; anaesthesiology nursing; genomics integration into nursing practice; patient safety and quality improvement
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Chronic diseases remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, posing major challenges for patients, healthcare professionals, and health systems. The growing emphasis on evidence-based and personalized healthcare highlights the urgent need to optimize strategies that improve clinical outcomes, enhance quality of life, and ensure sustainable healthcare delivery. Rehabilitation, patient empowerment, and innovative interventions are central to addressing these challenges effectively.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, Advances in Chronic Disease Management, Rehabilitation, and Health Outcomes, which aims to bring together original research and comprehensive reviews focusing on innovative practices, multidisciplinary approaches, and emerging trends in chronic disease care. This Special Issue aligns with the scope of Healthcare by promoting evidence-based practice, patient-centered care, and outcome-driven research across diverse healthcare settings.

In this Special Issue, we welcome submissions of original research articles, systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and meta-analyses. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Chronic disease prevention, treatment, and management;
  • Rehabilitation strategies and patient outcomes;
  • Evidence-based and personalized healthcare approaches;
  • Patient safety, self-care, and adherence;
  • Digital health technologies and innovative care models;
  • Multidisciplinary collaboration and integrated care pathways.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Dr. Konstantinos Giakoumidakis
Dr. Athina E. Patelarou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • adherence and self-care
  • chronic disease management
  • digital health interventions
  • evidence-based healthcare
  • health outcomes
  • multidisciplinary care
  • nursing care
  • patient safety
  • personalized healthcare
  • rehabilitation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 468 KB  
Article
Targeted Physical Function Exercises for Frailty and Falls Management in Pre-Frail Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
by Ioannis Savvakis, Athina Patelarou, Enkeleint A. Mechili, Eirini Stratidaki, Evridiki Patelarou and Konstantinos Giakoumidakis
Healthcare 2025, 13(19), 2486; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13192486 - 30 Sep 2025
Viewed by 352
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Exercise is essential for older adults to maintain or improve their physical condition. This study aimed to investigate whether improvements in physical performance, functional mobility, and balance through targeted physical function exercises could positively influence Concerns about Falling (CaF) and frailty in [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Exercise is essential for older adults to maintain or improve their physical condition. This study aimed to investigate whether improvements in physical performance, functional mobility, and balance through targeted physical function exercises could positively influence Concerns about Falling (CaF) and frailty in pre-frail community-dwelling older adults. Methods: We conducted an 18-month randomized controlled trial involving 112 pre-frail community-dwelling older adults aged 65 years or older. 55 individuals in the control group (CG) and 57 in the intervention group (IG) were assessed. The IG participated in a home-based physical function exercise program. Primary outcomes included Physical Performance (Short Physical Performance Battery, SPPB), Functional Mobility (Timed Up and Go, TUG), Balance (Berg Balance Scale, BBS), CaF (Falls Efficacy Scale–International, FES-I), and Frailty status (SHARE-FI). Assessments were conducted at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months. Results: The IG showed significant improvements in BBS (p < 0.01, partial eta2 0.17), SPPB (p < 0.01, partial eta2 0.13), TUG (p < 0.01, partial eta2 0.14) and FES-I (p < 0.01, partial eta2 0.07) compared to the CG and their baseline after 6, 12 and 18 months of intervention. By 18 months, frailty status improved in the IG, with 12.3% classified as non-frail compared to 2.0% in the CG, while 14.5% of the CG transitioned to frailty versus none in the IG. Discussion: The intervention appears to support improvements in physical function and may contribute to reductions in CaF and beneficial changes in frailty status among pre-frail community-dwelling older adults. Full article
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