Person-Centredness in Human Services: An Evidence-Based Conceptualisation To Inform Practice

Abstract

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 constituent characteristics, although contemporary government policies regarding service delivery for various groups of vulnerable people have been developed with this approach in mind. It has previously been impossible to define ‘person-centredness’ without being contextually specific, in fact, it is the very reason that this research was necessary. By drawing on the literature and the views of an expert reference group, this research develops a descriptive framework of person-centred principles and constituent characteristics as they apply to people with disability, elders and people with mental health issues. In addition, this thesis builds a conceptualisation of person-centredness by problematising the contested concepts across multiple contexts. Person-centredness across human services is explored and explained using a post-structuralist approach and addresses the applicability of the framework across policy, organisational and front-line practice contexts.