Time toxicity in chronic disease comorbidity care: A concept analysis using Walker and Avant's approach.
Ping Song, Su'e Yuan, Yuzhu Guan and 3 others
PMID 41937996WHAT IT FOUND
Time pressure from appointments, medications, travel and costs was described as a persistent burden for patients with multiple chronic conditions, linked to poorer adherence, mood, caregiver strain and quality of life.
No tested intervention is shown.
Key findings
01The analysis defined time toxicity as an excessive, multifaceted burden from managing multiple chronic conditions, including appointments, treatment, recovery, self-management, psychological distress, caregiver burden, polypharmacy and economic strain.
02The synthesis reported that time toxicity was linked to reduced treatment adherence, anxiety or depression, financial strain and lower quality of life.
03The paper proposed indicators to measure time toxicity, including time logs, patient-reported time burden, healthcare utilization data, adherence records, mental health scales, economic impact assessments and caregiver burden instruments.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The analysis was based on published literature, not on new patient data or a tested intervention. The search strategy was limited to English or Chinese publications, and the authors noted that the findings may be shaped by Western healthcare contexts. The proposed definition and model cases require empirical validation through clinical studies. The included studies were mixed in design, including cross-sectional studies, qualitative studies, reviews and one randomized controlled trial. The paper does not show that time-use diaries, remote monitoring, same-day multidisciplinary visits or caregiver support reduce time toxicity or improve patient outcomes.
Declared interests
This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The funder had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, report writing, or publication decision. The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the proposed nursing actions, such as time-use diaries, remote monitoring, same-day multidisciplinary visits or caregiver support, as proven treatments. This concept analysis proposes them from existing literature, but it did not test whether they reduce time toxicity or improve patient outcomes.