Functional Decline, Rehabilitation, and Care Strategies in Chronic Diseases
A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 January 2027 | Viewed by 3
Special Issue Editor
Interests: clinical medicine; nursing; frailty; elderly; malnutrition; physical performance, cognative impariment, post-COVID-19 disability; frailty-gender differences.
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Functional decline represents a critical pathway linking chronic diseases to disability, institutionalization, and mortality, yet optimal strategies for its prevention and management remain inadequately defined. This Special Issue aims to advance the science of functional assessment, rehabilitation interventions, and integrated care delivery for patients with chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease, COPD, diabetes, cognitive decline and multimorbidity. We welcome original research, systematic reviews, and clinical studies examining the following: (1) objective assessment tools for functional capacity (cardiopulmonary exercise testing, six-minute walk test, gait analysis, and multidimensional frailty screening); (2) evidence-based rehabilitation protocols tailored to disease severity and individual phenotypes; (3) exercise prescription strategies based on physiological parameters; (4) innovative care models integrating physical, cognitive, and social dimensions of decline; (5) technology-enabled interventions including telerehabilitation and virtual reality platforms; and (6) implementation science addressing healthcare delivery challenges in diverse settings, particularly rural and underserved communities. This collection will provide clinicians, researchers, and health system leaders with actionable evidence to optimize functional outcomes and quality of life across the trajectory of chronic disease.
Dr. Klara Komici
Guest Editor
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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
- functional decline
- chronic disease management
- cardiopulmonary rehabilitation
- frailty assessment
- exercise prescription
- integrated care
- telerehabilitation
- multidimensional assessment
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