Family Centered Care

1399 Words3 Pages

Patient and Family Centered Care Patient and family centered care (PFCC) is described as a model of care where patients and their family members are considered the source of control, and are full collaborative partners with the healthcare team rather than passive bystanders (Rawson, Kitts & Carlos, 2016). PFCC aims to incorporate patient values, preferences, and needs into the care provided, and aims to ensure equal access and opportunity for quality healthcare (Harper et al., 2015; Rawson et al., 2016). It empowers patients to define “family” and establish how they want both themselves and their family to participate in healthcare decisions (Johnson, 2016). In recent years, much value has been placed on incorporating PFCC into healthcare …show more content…

PFCC consists of four core concepts that are reflected in the KSAs associated with the competency. These four concepts include dignity and respect, information sharing, patient and family participation, and collaboration (Fagan, Wong, Carnie, Ashley, & Somerville, 2015). Studies have demonstrated that competency in PFCC can positively impact patients and families with regard to quality, safety and satisfaction (Abraham, & Moretz, 2012). Specifically, competency in PFCC can decrease length of stay, improve patient safety by decreasing risk for adverse events, improve quality of life, improve patient outcomes, decrease healthcare utilization, and address healthcare disparities (Epstein et al., 2010; Herrin et al., 2016; Wolf et al., 2008). The way PFCC leads to improved outcomes is not completely understood, however many hypotheses have been developed. One hypothesis is that patients and family members can provide additional information to the medical team, while another is that patients may adhere better to treatment plans when they understand and are engaged in their plan of care (Herrin et al., 2016). When nurses obtain the specific KSAs associated with the PFCC competency both care and satisfaction …show more content…

Therefore, clinicians must regularly appraise new literature. However, EBP is not regularly practiced, and the translation of research findings to practice is slow (Melnyk et al., 2014). Additionally, despite the many documented benefits of EBP, clinicians cite significant barriers to regularly engaging in EBP. These barriers include time constraints, lack of EBP skills, and lack of organizational support (Fink, Thompson, & Bonnes, 2005). By improving competence in EBP, and removing barriers to engaging in EBP, clinicians can foster the PFCC competency by presenting patients with up to date information to help guide patient and family decision

Open Document