Determinants of Care Trajectory in Chronic Disease

Dear Colleagues,

Chronic diseases are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in high-income countries, and represent a growing threat worldwide. They affect people of all age groups, regions, and countries. Each year 41 million people die of chronic diseases, accounting for 71% of all deaths globally (World Health Organization, 2019). Around 15 million of these deaths are premature deaths (people aged between 30 and 69 years) and over 85% of these premature deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Among chronic diseases, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes present the highest prevalence and socio-economic burden. In Europe, disability-adjusted life years or DALYs (i.e., years of healthy life lost) as a consequence of cardiovascular diseases range from to 3288 per 100,000 inhabitants of Luxembourg to 19,258 per 100,000 inhabitants in Bulgaria (Global Burden of Diseases, 2019). The promotion of healthy lifestyles and the prevention of the risks associated with unhealthy behaviors and rapid unplanned urbanization (primary risk factors of chronic diseases) are urgent matters requiring advocacy.

Beyond prevention methods, the management of chronic disease is critical. The common component of chronic diseases is the long-term and complex care trajectory, coordinated by different health care services and professionals, extending into social care and the involvement of family caregivers. Academic and medical associations have long worked on guidelines to improve the management of chronic diseases, but they still need input as the epidemic progresses. If early detection and timely treatment improve chronic disease management and reduce the risk of future health-related events, the determinants of care trajectory in chronic disease are several. Among others, patients’ individual characteristics (age, sex), social inequities, health care availability, and health care access have been identified, but more research is needed. In addition, modelling and analysis methods of care trajectories have to be improved in order to better disentangle the determinants and their consequences. Tackling determinants of care trajectory in chronic disease can not only provide health care services with methods and tools to lessen the socio-economic burden of chronic diseases, but also save lives.

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on the current state of knowledge on the determinants of care trajectory in chronic disease. New research papers and reviews are welcome. Methodological papers dealing with new epidemiological or statistical approaches to identify determinants of care trajectories in chronic disease are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Nolwenn Le Meur
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. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2500 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.