An exploration of person-centred concepts in human services: A thematic analysis of the literature
Access Status
Authors
Date
2017Type
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Source Title
ISSN
School
Collection
Abstract
Being ‘person-centred’ in the delivery of health and human services has become synonymous with quality care, and it is a core feature of policy reform in Australia and other Western countries. This research aimed to identify the uses, definitions and characteristics of the term ‘person-centred’ in the ageing, mental health and disability literature. A thematic analysis identified seven common core themes ofperson-centredness: honouring the person, being in relationship, facilitating participation and engage-ment, social inclusion/citizenship, experiencing compassionate love, being strengths/capacity focussed, and organisational characteristics. These suggest a set of higher-order experiences for people that are translated differently in different human services. There is no common definition of what it means to be person-centred, despite being a core feature of contemporary health and human service policy, andthis suggests that its inclusion facilitates further misunderstanding and misinterpretation. A common understanding and policy conceptualisation of person-centredness is likely to support quality outcomes in service delivery especially where organisations work across human service groups. Further research into the application and service expressions of being ‘person-centred’ in context is necessary.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Waters, Rebecca (2019)The term “person-centred” is increasingly used in human services to define desirable approaches to service delivery. There is, however, no consensus in the literature about the principles of person-centredness and its ...
-
Waters, Rebecca (2019)The term “person-centred” is increasingly used in human services to define desirable approaches to service delivery. There is, however, no consensus in the literature about the principles of person-centredness and its ...
-
Dow, B.; Fearn, M.; Haralambous, B.; Tinney, J.; Hill, Keith; Gibson, S. (2013)Background: Health services are encouraged to adopt a strong person-centered approach to the provision of care and services for older people. The aim of this project was to establish a user-friendly, psychometrically ...