Adherence to medication and beneficial lifestyle changes in prevalent chronic diseases is often unsatisfactory, leading to health complications and increased costs that threaten the sustainability of health systems.
Supporting the self-management of chronic diseases, in the wider context of self-care, is critical to achieve better health outcomes. Self-management involves tasks such as adhering to medication, a diet or engaging in physical activity, which are intrinsically linked to behaviour change.
Health professionals are expected to deliver behaviour change support to people with chronic diseases. However, the scientific literature and our needs assessment indicate that students present a skill gap in behaviour change support, resulting from curricular insufficiencies and limited training opportunities. Therefore, there is a pressing need of improving students’ education on behaviour change support to effectively promote self-care in people with chronic diseases.