Effectiveness of strategies for informing, educating, and involving patients
BMJ 2007; 335 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39246.581169.80 (Published 05 July 2007) Cite this as: BMJ 2007;335:24
- Angela Coulter, chief executive1,
- Jo Ellins, project manager (organisational development)2
- 1Picker Institute Europe, King's Mead House, Oxford OX1 1RX
- 2The NHS Centre for Involvement, Vanguard Centre, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL
- Correspondence to: angela.coulter{at}pickereurope.ac.uk
- Accepted 28 April 2007
Policymakers increasingly believe that encouraging patients to play a more active role in their health care could improve quality, efficiency, and health outcomes. But critics have dismissed talk about patient engagement and patient centred care as political correctness—a misplaced concern with the “touchy feely” aspects of health care, with no scientific basis and little relevance to the quest for excellence in clinical care. Who is right? To what extent is the planned shift towards greater patient engagement supported by robust research evidence?
Engaging patients
Patient focused quality interventions recognise and try to support patients in actively securing appropriate, effective, safe, and responsive health care. Initiatives may aim to engage patients in their own or their family's individual clinical care, or they may try to involve the public in improving the responsiveness of health services. This article focuses on the first of these two initiatives (box 1).
Box 1 Patient focused quality interventions
To improve health literacy
Provision of printed leaflets and health information packages
Provision of computer based and internet health information
Targeted approaches to tackle low levels of health literacy in disadvantaged groups
Targeted mass media campaigns
To improve clinical decision making
Patient decision aids
Training for clinicians in communication skills
Coaching and question prompts for patients
To improve self care
Self management education
Self monitoring and self administered treatment
Self help groups and peer support
Patient access to personal medical information
Patient centred telecare
To improve patient safety
Information to help choose safe providers
Patient involvement in infection control
Encouraging adherence to treatment regimens
Checking records and care processes
Patient reporting of adverse drug events
Methods
As part of a wider research initiative to collate and synthesise research on performance, quality, and cost effectiveness in health care, we searched the literature for evidence on patient …
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