behandlingsbelastning

Behandlingsbelastning is a concept in health care referring to the overall workload that patients bear to manage a health condition and its treatment. It includes the time, effort, financial cost, cognitive load, and organizational demands of medical regimens and health-system interactions. Activities contributing to behandlingsbelastning include taking medications according to complex schedules, monitoring symptoms or biomarker levels, attending appointments, undergoing tests, and implementing lifestyle changes. It also covers coordinating care between multiple providers, dealing with side effects, navigating insurance or reimbursement processes, and managing treatment-related anxiety and social disruption.

Behandlingsbelastning interacts with patient capacity, the individual’s physical, mental, financial, and social resources. When workload exceeds capacity, patients may struggle to adhere to regimens or disengage from care, which can compromise outcomes. In contrast, reducing unnecessary complexity and aligning treatment with patient goals can lessen belastning and improve adherence, satisfaction, and quality of life. This has given rise to the idea of minimally disruptive medicine, which seeks to tailor care to the patient’s life rather than maximizing treatment intensity.

Measurement and research on behandlingsbelastning employ patient-reported instruments that assess the perceived burden of self-management, care coordination, and regimen complexity. Behandlingsbelastning is particularly salient in chronic conditions and multimorbidity, where polypharmacy and frequent health-system contacts amplify burden.

Implications for practice include assessing burden as part of shared decision making, simplifying regimens where possible, delegating tasks to caregivers, integrating care across providers, and offering education and supports to reduce barriers to adherence.