SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Role of Psychological Constructs in Chronic Disease Prevention and Management: A Public Health PerspectiveView all 9 articles
Narrative foreclosure among patients with chronic diseases: A scoping review
Provisionally accepted
- 1Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- 2Wuxi Taihu University, Wuxi, China
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Aims: To comprehensively integrate existing research on narrative foreclosure among patients with chronic diseases, aiming to explore how the concept is described and whether its clinical manifestations differ across various disease contexts, as well as to summarize the associated factors and intervention strategies. Design: Scoping review. Data Sources: Systematic searches were performed in seven databases (CNKI, Embase, PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science) from their inception until March 2025. Methods: We followed the framework proposed by Arksey, O’Malley, and Levac. The review was reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension. Research on narrative foreclosure in patients with chronic diseases was included, regardless of the specific setting in which it was conducted. Results: A total of nine studies were included, covering both cancer and other chronic diseases. The primary outcomes are as follows. The core concept of narrative foreclosure in the context of chronic diseases refers to a state in which individuals believe their life story has ended; however, its specific descriptions vary across chronic diseases such as asthma and depression. The clinical manifestations include negative emotions and maladaptive behaviors. Twelve associated factors were identified, including age, psychological factors (such as ego integrity and hope), social support, and educational level. Interventions targeting narrative foreclosure involved the application of hope theory, dignity therapy, meaning-centered approaches, and narrative nursing. Conclusion: At present, research on narrative foreclosure in the field of chronic diseases is limited. Narrative foreclosure has been proven to have adverse effects on disease management among patients with chronic diseases. Therefore, it is particularly important to pay attention to the clinical manifestations of patients’ narrative foreclosure and to identify the factors that promote or hinder it. Additionally, existing intervention measures need further verification, and the concepts of positive psychology should be integrated into their design and implementation.
Keywords: Associated factors, Chronic Disease, clinical manifestations, conception, intervention strategies, Narrative foreclosure, Scoping review
Received: 29 Oct 2025; Accepted: 05 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Cui, Hu, Sun, Huang, Chen, Wang and Jiang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yuyu Jiang
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