Governing for or Governing With? Advancing Governance Models That Include Patients, Caregivers and Communities as...

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Public Health Policy
• Organizational Governance

Background:

• Healthcare governance significantly influences health system performance and citizen outcomes.
• Current governance models may not fully address evolving community health needs.
• There is a need for enhanced patient and public involvement in healthcare decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for healthcare governance redesign focused on strengthening collective impact.
• To explore how increased patient and public engagement can foster a culture of continuous improvement.
• To propose governance models that integrate local empowerment with overarching principles.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of healthcare governance frameworks.
• Argumentation for enhanced patient, caregiver, and public engagement strategies.
• Discussion of decentralized power structures and system integration.

Main Results:

• Redesigned governance can enhance collective impact by engaging diverse stakeholders.
• Expanded public and patient engagement facilitates a culture of learning and improvement.
• Integrating overarching principles with local empowerment offers transformative potential.

Conclusions:

• Healthcare governance reform is essential for improving health system performance.
• Collective impact models, driven by public engagement and co-design, are key to transformation.
• Decentralized decision-making, guided by shared principles, optimizes health system responsiveness.