The Quality Indicators of Long-Term Care Models that Promote Empowerment for Self-care: A Systematic Review Protocol

Abstract

“This chapter describes a protocol for a systematic review aimed at identifying and synthesising quality indicators used to evaluate long-term care (LTC) models that promote empowerment for self-care. The review will be conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidance and will adopt a predefined, transparent methodology. A comprehensive search will be performed in major bibliographic databases, complemented by searches of relevant grey literature, to capture empirical studies, evaluation reports and policy-oriented publications that operationalise quality in LTC through indicators related to empowerment, autonomy, participation, self-management support and person-centred care. Two reviewers will independently screen records, extract data and assess methodological quality/risk of bias using appropriate appraisal tools aligned with study design. Identified indicators will be mapped to conceptual dimensions of quality (e.g., structure, process and outcomes) and categorised according to measurement level and applicability across LTC settings. The findings are expected to support benchmarking, inform service evaluation and guide the development of indicator sets sensitive to empowerment-oriented care in long-term care systems