Platform of Patient Organizations Launches “CROBI” Project to Measure Well-being of Chronic Patients
Madrid, Oct 23 (EFE) – The Platform of Patient Organizations (POP) has introduced the “CROBI” project, a new tool designed to measure the level of psychosocial well-being among people with chronic diseases. The goal of the project is to gain a better understanding of how these illnesses impact their day-to-day lives.
The POP, which consists of 36 patient organizations at the national level with over 1,796 associated organizations, presented this tool during a meeting organized in collaboration with the EFE Agency. The meeting brought together patients and professionals to discuss the new project and address the challenges faced by chronic patients.
In Spain, there are approximately 22 million chronic patients, accounting for 54 percent of the population. Of these patients, 89.5 percent are over 65 years old. Additionally, 28 percent of elderly individuals with chronic illnesses live alone, and 43 percent of them feel negatively about their situation.
Experts have highlighted that chronic diseases often have a significant impact on social, family, and emotional aspects of a patient’s life, reducing their overall quality of life. In response to this, the POP has developed CROBI, the first self-assessment scale of well-being specifically tailored for chronic patients. The scale measures well-being in two dimensions: psychological, emotional, and affective, as well as socio-occupational.
CROBI is an anonymous questionnaire consisting of 24 questions that reflect experiences and feelings commonly faced by individuals with chronic illnesses. The patients answer each question based on how well it aligns with their personal experiences. After completing the questionnaire, the patient can download the results, which are presented on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the highest level of well-being.
Pedro Carrascal, the general director of the POP, highlighted during the meeting that the tool brings awareness to the realities of chronic illnesses, which are often “invisible.” One of the notable aspects of CROBI is that patients themselves were involved in its design.
Andrés Fontalba, a member of the Andalusian Society of Quality Care, emphasized the importance of studying the emotional well-being of chronic patients, as it adds value to their follow-up care and allows for group analysis and research. The POP hopes that CROBI will not only help individuals with chronic diseases understand the impact on their quality of life but also serve as a reference for health professionals and researchers conducting observational or quality of life studies.
One of the challenges the tool faces is integrating the questionnaire into the healthcare system. Beatriz Martínez de la Cruz, director of Multiple Sclerosis Spain, believes that incorporating CROBI into clinical practice could contribute to patient monitoring by providing a current snapshot of the disease’s impact on their lives.
Alfredo del Campo, a sociologist and member of the technical committee of the CROBI project, emphasized that the tool’s utility lies in providing decision criteria for healthcare policy leaders to address the shortcomings in the approach to chronic patients.
All four participants agreed that the care for chronic patients in Spain urgently needs to change and improve significantly to better meet their needs. They stressed the importance of adopting a multidisciplinary approach with greater coordination.
In conclusion, the introduction of the “CROBI” project by the Platform for Patient Organizations aims to provide valuable insights into the psychosocial well-being of chronic patients. The tool’s self-assessment scale and anonymous questionnaire offer patients a means to understand and address the impact of their illnesses on various aspects of their lives. However, integrating the questionnaire into the healthcare system and bringing about substantial changes in the care for chronic patients remain pressing challenges.