Supporting a person‐centred approach in clinical guidelines. A position paper of the Allied Health Community – Guidelines International Network (G‐I‐N)

• Published in: Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy Vol. 18; no. 5; pp. 1543 - 1558
• Main Authors: Dulmen, Simone A., Lukersmith, Sue, Muxlow, Josephine, Santa Mina, Elaine, Nijhuis‐van der Sanden, Maria W.G., Wees, Philip J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.10.2015; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Allied Health Personnel; Best practice; Biopsychosocial aspects; Classification; Clinical decision making; Clinical practice guidelines; Decision Making; Disability; Domains; Evidence-based medicine; Goal setting; Guidelines; Health; Health care delivery; Health services; health‐related quality of life; Holistic medicine; Humans; International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health; Internationality; Intervention; Medical personnel; Models, Psychological; Nominal group technique; Original; Original Research Papers; Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; Patient communication; Patient-Centered Care; patient‐centred care; Position measurement; Practice Guidelines as Topic; Quality of Life; shared decision making; Virtual communities; shared decision making; guidelines; International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health; health-related quality of life; patient-centred care
• ISSN: 1369-6513; 1369-7625
• DOI: 10.1111/hex.12144

Background A person‐centred approach in the context of health services delivery implies a biopsychosocial model focusing on all factors that influence the person's health and functioning. Those wishing to monitor change should consider this perspective when they develop and use guidelines to stimulate active consideration of the person's needs, preferences and participation in goal setting, intervention selection and the use of appropriate outcome measures. Objective To develop a position paper that promotes a person‐centred approach in guideline development and implementation. Design, setting and participants We used three narrative discussion formats to collect data for achieving consensus: a nominal group technique for the Allied Health Steering Group, an Internet discussion board and a workshop at the annual G‐I‐N conference. We analysed the data for relevant themes to draft recommendations. Results We built the position paper on the values of the biopsychosocial model. Four key themes for enhancing a person‐centred approach in clinical guidelines emerged: (i) use a joint definition of health‐related quality of life as an essential component of intervention goals, (ii) incorporate the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a framework for considering all domains related to health, (iii) adopt a shared decision‐making method, and (iv) incorporate patient‐reported health outcome measures. The position statement includes 14 recommendations for guideline developers, implementers and users. Conclusion This position paper describes essential elements for incorporating a person‐centred approach in clinical guidelines. The consensus process provided information about barriers and facilitators that might help us develop strategies for implementing person‐centred care.