Effect of family doctor contract services on non-communicable disease management among the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine the effect of family doctor contract service on managing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among elderly patients. Methods: Chinese and English articles published up to 15 July 2022 were systematically searched. Relevant randomized controlled studies (RCTs) were extracted from seven databases: PubMed, Coherence, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Data, and WeiPu. All these studies have evaluated the effect of family doctor contract services on chronic disease management among the elderly. A meta-analysis was conducted using either random or fixed effects. Mean difference and risk ratio were used to analyze quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Results: We identified that 25 independent studies, involving 4,046 elderly patients with chronic diseases across China, were eligible for meta-analysis. The results from these RCTs indicated that family doctors could disseminate knowledge about NCDs to elderly patients, improve their disease management abilities (including drug compliance, healthy diet, regular exercise, non-smoking, and non-drinking), lower blood pressure and blood glucose levels, reduce BMI, and increase quality of life and patient satisfaction (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Family doctor contract services could improve health management for elderly patients with NCDs and should be promoted in China.