Person-Centred Care, Theory, Operationalisation and Effects

Abstract

AbstractIn healthcare systems patient engagement and care satisfaction are less than optimal. Different solutions have been proposed to recognise the patient in health care, including person-centred care. The University of Gothenburg Centre for Person-Centred Care (GPCC) steering committee formulated three ‘simple routines’ to initiate, integrate and safeguard person-centred care in daily clinical practice. These routines are: the patient narrative followed by an agreed health plan which is then safeguarded by documentation. Health care professionals need to know how health processes are strengthened in a relationship where patients are accepted as persons with their own will and emotions and in which individual responsibilities and capabilities are highlighted. A person-centred perspective uses ethics as a springboard. Such an ethical view can briefly be formulated by: “To aim for the good life, with and for others in just institutions”. When the starting point is ethics and each person is understood as a unique individual, care actions will never be the same for each patient. By asking for the patients’ understanding of the condition and treatment relative to their lives in general, professionals can understand what health, illness, treatment and care convey to patients and their relatives. The patient narratives are obviously very important in formulating the health plan. Controlled studies have found several benefits from implementing person-centred practices, including improved quality of life, maintained self-efficacy and reduced health costs.