IMPROVING OUTCOMES BY ACHIEVING PERSON-CENTERED CARE: A MODEL TO GUIDE PERSON-FOCUSED PRACTICE

Governments and organizations around the world have adopted the term person-centered care to describe and guide health care services and policies. While this concept is valued in practice it seems it is not always evident to the person/families. This unfortunate reality prompted exploration of this concept. The aim of this exploration was to identify the recognized characteristics of person/family-centered practice. It identified the difficulty of defining this type of practice along with potential barriers to achieving person-centered care in everyday practice. This led to the development of a model to guide all health professionals and guide education of trainee health professionals for delivering person/family-centered care. Exploration of a person-centered approach targeted literature specifically discussing person/family-centered care. The results led to the creation of a three-step model of person/family-centered goals and practice. The model has implications for all health professionals. It suggests characteristics of effective person/family-centered care, thereby potentially producing the ultimate aim of health care: satisfying outcomes for all stakeholders including the person/family, health professionals, employers, and policy makers.