Patient-Centered Care In Context Of Family

Patient-Centered Care in Context of Family Have you ever heard anyone use the term “Care of the patient in context of the family”? What does this mean? For years when caring for a patient the healthcare provider would ultimately make the decisions regarding treatment plans and procedures without patient collaboration. This would often cause fear, a feeling of lack of control, and sometimes had a negative impact on the patients’ outcome. More currently, a new approach is becoming the norm, caring for the patient in context of the family. This paper will explore what this term means, how it affects the patient and family, as well as nursing. The staff at St. Jude’s Research Hospital defines this concept perfectly in the following quote.

When caring for a pediatric patient admitted to the hospital there is usually a lot of fear and uncertainty for both the child and the parent/caregiver. Even if they have been educated on the condition, often that alone does not relieve their anxiety. By encouraging the parents/caregivers to be actively involved in the planning, decision-making, and care implementation of the child, can decrease the feeling of helplessness and gives them a sense of control (Matteo & Ceron, 2015).

For the pediatric patient the period of hospitalization can have a negative impact so it is important that the child have a sense of security and support from their primary caregiver. By encouraging, the involvement of the involvement of the caregiver to be present and involved with the care helps the child cope better with the overall situation. By involving, the caregivers in the decision making will help the nurse know better how to care for child as an individual because of the added advice and understanding of the childs’ personal needs (Potts & Mandelco,

In one medical journal, they discussed a study conducted by both researchers and practitioners where they observed the behavior of patients when not only decision-making was shared, but also motivational interviewing was involved. Shared decision-making was used to discuss treatment and make a decision. Motivational interviewing was used when there was a resistance to change by the patient. The motivational interviewing helped to identify the issue that was preventing the patient from moving forward and then counseled with them to overcome the issue and make a decision regarding treatment or change. Through this study, there was evidence that the patients who received this type of patient-centered care were associated with improved patient outcomes, improved self-care, patient satisfaction, and medical adherence (Elwyn et al., 2014). In conclusion, “care of the patient in context of family” is essential to the entire medical field and all patients receiving care and their families. By practicing this process, we are ensuring the best possible patient outcomes and the overall satisfaction of the patient and their families by implementing more effective nursing. The collaboration and feedback contributes to the future of evidence based practice. This is truly what nursing is all about, the best possible outcomes and positive experience for