Learner-centered Education

What does a patient-centered approach mean to you?

With this online series, I would like to generate a real exchange focused on Personal Health Engagement™ (PHE), in which I plan to share with you what I have learned from healthcare providers around the world and also to hear from you about the everyday realities of working with patients. The first installment, will focus on what a patient-centered approach means and what behavioral strategies are effective in helping the patient realize their treatment goals.

A patient-centered approach to education has been on our radar for some time now because of the position statement by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and European Association of the Study of Diabetes (EASD) on the management of hyperglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes. Simply put, the purpose of the statement is to provide care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient needs and preferences, ultimately ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions. (Diabetes Care, Diabetologia. 19 April 2012). This supports the PHE philosophy and illustrates the need to effectively partner with the patient to help them achieve true concordance, empowerment, activation and engagement in order to maximize their treatment outcomes.

Employing patient-centered education strategies may mean different things to different clinicians. We all use different methods to communicate, teach and engage our patients. For example, many of you have been using the Conversation Map tools as a patient-centered education strategy. This represents one path to delivering PHE.

Of course, it is important to remember that PHE is most certainly a process, whereby patients gradually move to a better place in self-management together with their health care provider. That better place can be psychosocial or knowledge based, so long as they feel they are ready to make modifications to their daily routine. In turn, these modifications lead to behavioral change and new habits.

Throughout the course of the next several installments we will delve deeper in defining specific behavior modification strategies that drive PHE. We will also apply those strategies to practical, real life situations.

In the meantime, I want to hear from you!

What strategies do you currently use to engage your patients in better self-care management?

Barbara