Study Evaluating the Effect of Person-centred Care for Patients Admitted for Inpatient Care at an Internal Medicine Unit

Person-centred Inpatient Care - a Quasi-experimental Study Within an Internal Medicine Context

Patients admitted to internal medicine care environments have complex care needs and must be treated as persons with resources and responsibilities. Person-centred care is defined as care in which the caregiver aims to get to know the patient as a person, and the care comprises a holistic approach to assess patients' needs and resources. There is strong motivation for future health care to transform into an approach that acknowledges and endorses every patient's resources, interests and needs. There is limited existing research on the benefit of implementing person-centred care in internal medicine care environments for all patients regardless of diagnosis or care pathway. Little is known about the effects of person-centred inpatient care on patients' satisfaction with care. This study includes adult patients admitted to an internal medicine inpatient unit regardless of reason for admission. The aim of the study is to evaluate effects of person-centred inpatient care on care processes, in terms of satisfaction with care and person-centred content in medical records and to evaluate effects on self-reported health and self-efficacy.

Inclusion Criteria:

• acute or elective admission with a minimum projected in-hospital stay of 24 hours
• age ≥ 18 years
• conscious and alert, with no delay in response.

Exclusion Criteria:

• cognitive impairment or a judgment by the caregivers that inclusion was not in the best interests of the patient (e.g. end of life care, impaired psychological wellbeing).