[Patient-centredness in health services research]

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Patient-Centered Care

Background:

• Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are crucial for evaluating health interventions.
• Selecting appropriate PROs, like quality of life (QoL), remains a challenge.
• Patient empowerment requires operational clarity and evidence-based patient information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline key research areas in patient-centered health services.
• To address challenges in selecting PROs and operationalizing patient empowerment.
• To explore the role and integration of self-help and patient organizations.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and conceptual analysis of patient-centeredness research.
• Examination of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and quality of life (QoL) metrics.
• Exploration of patient empowerment strategies and self-help organization integration.

Main Results:

• Identified challenges in PRO selection and patient empowerment operationalization.
• Highlighted the importance of evidence-based patient information for empowerment.
• Discussed the potential and challenges of integrating self-help organizations into healthcare.

Conclusions:

• Further research is needed to refine PRO selection and patient empowerment strategies.
• Integrating self-help organizations can enhance patient-centered care.
• Optimizing patient information is key to empowering patients in healthcare.