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Unraveling the meaning of patient engagement: A concept analysis
Tracy Higgins1, Elaine Larson2, Rebecca Schnall1
1Columbia University School of Nursing, United States.
Objective:
Patient engagement has been credited with contributing to improved outcomes and experiences of care. Patient engagement has become a widely used term, but remains a poorly understood concept in healthcare. Citations for the term have increased throughout the healthcare-related disciplines without a common definition. This study seeks to define the concept by identifying its attributes in the context of its use.
Methods:
A concept analysis of the scientific literature in the health disciplines was performed using the Rogers method.
Results:
The analysis revealed four defining attributes of patient engagement: personalization, access, commitment and therapeutic alliance. Patient engagement is defined as the desire and capability to actively choose to participate in care in a way uniquely appropriate to the individual, in cooperation with a healthcare provider or institution, for the purposes of maximizing outcomes or improving experiences of care.
Conclusion:
Patient engagement is both process and behavior and is shaped by the relationship between the patient and provider and the environment in which healthcare delivery takes place.
Practice Implications:
The definition and the identified attributes serve as a heuristic in designing patient engagement strategies and as a basis for future development of the patient engagement concept in healthcare.
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