Concordance in the healthcare context: A concept analysis

Area of Science:

• Healthcare research
• Nursing science
• Patient engagement

Background:

• Patient concordance signifies patient-centered healthcare, promoting equitable patient-clinician collaboration.
• Understanding of concordance lacks clarity, necessitating a detailed conceptual analysis.
• Equitable collaboration is essential for effective healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the essence of the concordance concept within the healthcare context.
• To analyze the antecedents, attributes, and consequences of patient concordance.
• To provide a clear definition and framework for understanding healthcare concordance.

Main Methods:

• Walker and Avant's eight-step concept analysis method was employed.
• A comprehensive literature search was conducted using "concordance" and "concord" as keywords.
• Searches covered major databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, etc.) for articles published between 2006 and 2022.

Main Results:

• Key attributes of concordance include communication, therapeutic partnership, and treatment agreement.
• Antecedents encompass the provider-patient relationship, patient beliefs, provider characteristics, and treatment complexity.
• Consequences identified are improved adherence, better clinical outcomes, and enhanced quality of life.

Conclusions:

• This paper clarifies concordance by detailing its antecedents, attributes, and consequences.
• Findings provide a foundation for developing assessments and nursing interventions to enhance patient concordance.
• Nurses can promote concordance by building trust, respecting beliefs, and improving communication for complex treatments.