Chronic diseases pose significant challenges to primary care, requiring patient-centred strategies to improve chronic care delivery. As telehealth emerges as a promising tool, this study aims to examine patient experiences with chronic care and their preferences for self-management support (SMS) through telehealth services in primary care settings.

A multicentre, cross-sectional survey was conducted (June–August 2022) using the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC), the Patient Assessment of Self-Management Tasks (PAST) and a telehealth preferences questionnaire. Linear regression assessed the association between PACIC and PAST scores. Multivariate logistic regression identified factors associated with telehealth preferences, with variables selected according to Andersen’s model of healthcare utilisation.

Five diverse primary care settings in Central Vietnam, operating under Family Medicine principles.

290 individuals with hypertension and/or diabetes managed at primary care for at least 6 months.

The average PACIC score was 2.52 (SD 0.7); 25.5% rated their care as high quality (PACIC score ≥3). Among PACIC domains, goal-setting and follow-up/coordination domains received the lowest ratings. Participants perceived lifestyle changes as their priority self-management tasks, followed by medical management, communication with providers and coping with disease consequences. Higher PACIC scores were significantly associated with greater engagement across most PAST domains. Live video conferencing and mobile health were the most preferred formats for SMS. Participants strongly preferred remote patient monitoring for medical management (OR 8.8, 95% CI 2.0 to 38.1). Rural residents were more likely to prefer other telehealth modalities (ORs 3.8–4.6), particularly for coping with disease consequences (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.8 to 9.4) and lifestyle changes (OR 5.8, 95% CI 1.1 to 28.9). Telehealth preferences were associated with factors across Andersen’s domains, including education (predisposing), resident area and digital access (enabling), and pill count, disease control, and perceived care quality (need-related).

Most elements of the chronic care model remained unmet. Patients’ care experiences and self-management priorities aligned with their telehealth preferences, underscoring the need for personalised telehealth strategies to enhance SMS in primary care. Given the cross-sectional design and absence of patient and public involvement, further studies should incorporate these stakeholders and confirm associations in more diverse and underserved populations.

Although physical therapy services are a part of the Essential Package of Health Services in Pakistan, they do not receive their due importance. This qualitative study aimed to explore the in-depth insights regarding the factors that influence the provision of physical therapy services in public sector hospitals of Karachi, Pakistan using the WHO’s health systems framework.

Exploratory qualitative study.

Three public sector hospitals located in Karachi, Pakistan were selected for this study. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 12 physical therapists working in the outpatient departments of the selected hospitals.

Findings were categorised into six major themes within the health systems framework, shedding light on various factors influencing the quality of care provided to the patients. These encompass issues such as inappropriate facility infrastructure, limited staff availability and competency, challenges with equipment adequacy and functionality, insufficient financial support, low staff incentivisation and the absence of a regulatory council.

The findings exhibited that the physical therapy services are constrained by various factors at the public sector hospitals in Pakistan. Improvement is recommended at various levels to increase the adequate staffing, financial support, provide the necessary equipment and ensure its functionality. The development of the regulatory council for physical therapy services is the need of the time to address the above solutions.