A Person-Centred Approach to Holistic Assessment

Abstract

Holistic assessment is an important aspect of providing high quality care focused on meeting a patient's individual needs. A holistic assessment should take into consideration the overall health of the patient, including their physical, psychological, social and spiritual wellbeing. This paper aims to clarify the meaning of 'holistic’ in relation to dentistry and describes how this relates to treating the person as a whole, rather than be aligned to any particular treatment philosophy. The importance of a person-centred approach in undertaking a holistic assessment is highlighted. A brief overview of the relational aspects of person-centred care (PCC) is provided and it is suggested that four key dimensions of PCC should be considered as important factors in holistic assessment: connection, caring attitude, communication and control.