Listening to people: measuring views, experiences and perceptions
Angela Coulter, Giuseppe Paparella, Andrew McCulloch
Abstract
The universal challenge facing health policy-makers is how to ensure the delivery of high-quality health care to a given population with a defined level of resource. While there is often disagreement on how to achieve this goal, most agree that health care should aim to be clinically effective, safe, equitable, efficient and responsive to those it aims to serve. The concept of responsiveness is often equated with the notion of person-centredness. Person-centred care means ensuring that care delivery responds to people's physical, emotional, social and cultural needs, that interactions with staff are informative, empathetic and empowering, and that patients' values and preferences are taken into account. This is important, not just because people want it, but also because their health care experiences can influence the effectiveness of their treatment and ultimately their state of health.