Family-centered care
Family-centered care is a healthcare approach that fosters a collaborative partnership between families and healthcare professionals, emphasizing the active involvement of families in a patient's treatment plan. This model is beneficial for patients of all ages and seeks to enhance trust, communication, and information sharing regarding the patient's condition. By recognizing family as a constant support in the patient’s life, family-centered care respects the diverse ethical, cultural, and socioeconomic values that families bring to healthcare decisions, particularly during serious illnesses or chronic conditions.
Developed by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, this approach revolves around core principles such as information sharing, collaboration, participation, and respect for dignity. Healthcare providers prioritize understanding the family's needs and resources, allowing for informed decision-making about treatment options. The involvement of family members aids in building trust and fosters a supportive environment, which can lead to reduced anxiety and improved mental health for both patients and their loved ones. Ultimately, family-centered care aims to empower families and healthcare professionals to work together in delivering optimal care for patients.
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Subject Terms
Family-centered care
Family-centered care is a health care approach that is based on a mutually beneficial partnership between families and health care professionals. This approach aims to help families be actively involved in a patient's treatment plan. This type of care can be helpful for patients of all ages. It promotes trust, communication, and the sharing of information about the patient's condition in an open and objective way so families and health care workers can collaborate to meet the needs of the patient. Family-centered care acknowledges family as a constant in the patient's life and honors the ethical, cultural, and socioeconomic values of all families as they deal with a serious illness or chronic condition.
Overview
Family-centered care was first developed by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), which is one of six bureaus within the Health Resources and Service Administration, an agency of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
The goal of family-centered care is to achieve the highest quality services and support for both patients and their families. This is accomplished by following the core concepts of family-centered care: information sharing, collaboration, participation, and dignity and respect.
In family-centered care, health care professionals gather as much information as possible about the family's resources and needs so they can assess the best way to collaborate while navigating the health care system. The health care staff gathers much of this information from questionnaires, discussions with the doctors involved in the patient's care, and in-depth interviews with the patient's family members. Health care providers also must give patients and their families as much information as possible about their disease/condition and all available treatment options. This allows the patient and family to make the best possible decisions regarding care.
Collaboration and participation are also key in this type of care. Health care professionals and family members make decisions together, and there must be collaboration and participation on both sides so they can think determine and implement solutions that are in the best interest of the patient. Collaboration and participation from everyone involved results in a higher level of trust as well.
Respect and dignity is central in family-centered care. This method recognizes that each family and situation is unique and that cultural values, life experiences, socioeconomic and ethical beliefs must be acknowledged as part of the partnership formed between health care professionals and family members. This means that health care staff will listen to the concerns of the patient and the family and attempt to honor their decisions throughout the treatment process.
Family-centered care aims to empower families to work as a team with health care professionals to provide the best care possible for their loved ones. Some of the benefits of family-centered care include decreased anxiety of family members and the patient, accelerated recovery times, and increased family confidence in the health care system. It also improves the mental health status of both patients and their family members during treatment.
Bibliography
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Verret, Gloria. "The Importance of Family-Centered Care." Children's Hospital Los Angeles, www.chla.org/blog/rn-remedies/the-importance-family-centered-care. Accessed 16 Dec. 2016.
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"What Is Family Centered Care?" St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org/treatment/patient-resources/family-centered-care.html. Accessed 14 Dec. 2016.