Chronic Disease Management in Families: A Public Health and Biomedicine Perspective

Abstract

Chronic illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, have become a global health burden that must be tackled in an integrated manner that transcends the single patient. In this review, we focus on the critical significance of family dynamics in the care of chronic diseases and the junction between public health strategies and biomedical discovery. This review investigates how family behaviors, caregiver activities, and support groups affect illness prevention, drug adherence, and patient outcomes. It also highlights the socioeconomic and cultural effects of family access to healthcare and disease management resources. This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness of family-based therapies and gaps in research, specifically addressing long-term outcomes and the role of emerging digital health interventions on family functioning. In addition, this review discusses the role of public health policies and biological discoveries, particularly genomic knowledge and customized therapy, in promoting family-based management of chronic disease. However, there are challenges, such as variations in healthcare access and the ethical question of accepting emerging technologies. Future research should also be on building long-term, family-based health promotion programs and measuring how health technology influences family involvement in disease management. It concludes with policy proposals for strengthening family involvement in chronic illness management through family-friendly health policies and interdisciplinary treatment models to enhance health.

Received: 11 December 2024 | Revised: 4 March 2025 | Accepted: 24 March 2025

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest to this work.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support this work are available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.

Author Contribution Statement

Rufus Oluwagbemileke Ajayi: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Data curation, Writing – review & editing, Supervision. Oluwafikayo Seun Adeyemi-Benson: Resources, Visualization. Oluwateniola Ajoke Adeyemi-Benson: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Project administration. Taiwo Temitope Ogunjobi: Methodology, Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.