Are the content and usability of a new direct observation tool adequate for assessing competency in delivering person-centred care: a think-aloud study with patients and healthcare professionals in Sweden.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the content and usability of a new direct observation tool for assessing competency in delivering person-centred care based on the Gothenburg Centre for Person-Centred Care (gPCC) framework. DESIGN: This is a qualitative study using think-aloud techniques and retrospective probing interviews and analyzed using deductive content analysis. SETTING: Sessions were conducted remotely via Zoom with participants in their homes or offices. PARTICIPANTS: 11 participants with lengthy experience of receiving, delivering and/or implementing gPCC were recruited using purposeful sampling and selected to represent a broad variety of stakeholders and potential end-users. RESULTS: Participants generally considered the content of the four main domains of the tool, that is, person-centred care activities, clinician manner, clinician skills and person-centred care goals, to be comprehensive and relevant for assessing person-centred care in general and gPCC in particular. Some participants pointed to the need to expand person-centred care activities to better reflect the emphasis on eliciting patient resources/capabilities and psychosocial needs in the gPCC framework. Think-aloud analyses revealed some usability issues primarily regarding difficulties or uncertainties in understanding several words and in using the rating scale. Probing interviews indicated that these problems could be mitigated by improving written instructions regarding response options and by replacing some words. Participants generally were satisfied with the layout and structure of the tool, but some suggested enlarging font size and text spacing to improve readability. CONCLUSION: The tool appears to satisfactorily cover major person-centred care activities outlined in the gPCC framework. The inclusion of content concerning clinician manner and skills was seen as a relevant embellishment of the framework and as contributing to a more comprehensive assessment of clinician performance in the delivery of person-centred care. A revised version addressing observed content and usability issues will be tested for inter-rater and intra-rater reliability and for feasibility of use in healthcare education and quality improvement efforts.

Observable indicators of person-centred care: an interview study with patients, relatives and professionals.

OBJECTIVE: To identify key observable indicators of person-centred care (PCC) from interviews with patients, relatives and professionals with experience of receiving or working with PCC. DESIGN: A qualitative interview study using deductive content analysis. SETTING: Primary and hospital care settings in Western Sweden. PARTICIPANTS: Twelve participants with extensive experience of receiving or working with PCC were interviewed: two patients, two patients representative with long-term conditions, one relative and informal carer, three registered nurses, one physician, two occupational therapists and one social worker/researcher. RESULTS: Nine observable indicators were identified and subsumed under three predetermined categories: initiating, working and safeguarding the partnership. The first category comprised three subcategories: welcoming, interested and courteous reception; agreeing on structure and aims of the conversation; and eliciting patients' wishes for involvement of significant others. The second category comprised four subcategories: attentive, empathic and encouraging manner; promoting mutual understanding; promoting patient engagement; and encouraging and friendly body language. The last category consisted of two subcategories: collaboration and transparency in documentation and verifying that patient's and professional's views, goals and wants are correctly documented. CONCLUSION: Our results underline the need for health professionals to actively and conscientiously convey to patients their interest in and respect for the patient as a person and their willingness to collaborate as partners in their care from the very outset of the interaction. Non-verbal behaviours were seen to play a major role in shaping patients' impressions of health professionals. Given that patients' first impressions were considered to impact the content, course and outcomes of the interaction, more research attention should be given to their implications for the effective delivery of PCC.

A state-of-the-art review of direct observation tools for assessing competency in person-centred care.

BACKGROUND: Direct observation is a common assessment strategy in health education and training, in which trainees are observed and assessed while undertaking authentic patient care and clinical activities. A variety of direct observation tools have been developed for assessing competency in delivering person-centred care (PCC), yet to our knowledge no review of such tools exists. OBJECTIVE: To review and evaluate direct observation tools developed to assess health professionals' competency in delivering PCC. DESIGN: State-of-the-art review DATA SOURCES: Electronic literature searches were conducted in PubMed, ERIC, CINAHL, and Web of Science for English-language articles describing the development and testing of direct observation tools for assessing PCC published until March 2017. REVIEW METHODS: Three authors independently assessed the records for eligibility. Duplicates were removed and articles were excluded that were irrelevant based on title and/or abstract. All remaining articles were read in full text. A data extraction form was developed to cover and extract information about the tools. The articles were examined for any conceptual or theoretical frameworks underlying tool development and coverage of recognized PCC dimensions was evaluated against a standard framework. The psychometric performance of the tools was obtained directly from the original articles. RESULT: 16 tools were identified: five assessed PCC holistically and 11 assessed PCC within specific skill domains. Conceptual/theoretical underpinnings of the tools were generally unclear. Coverage of PCC domains varied markedly between tools. Most tools reported assessments of inter-rater reliability, internal consistency reliability and concurrent validity; however, intra-rater reliability, content and construct validity were rarely reported. Predictive and discriminant validity were not assessed. CONCLUSION: Differences in scope, coverage and content of the tools likely reflect the complexity of PCC and lack of consensus in defining this concept. Although all may serve formative purposes, evidence supporting their use in summative evaluations is limited. Patients were not involved in the development of any tool, which seems intrinsically paradoxical given the aims of PCC. The tools may be useful for providing trainee feedback; however, rigorously tested and patient-derived tools are needed for high-stakes use.

High School Students' Experiences in School Toilets or Restrooms.

Previous research about school toilets is based on studies of children in elementary school. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences when using the school toilets reported by students aged 16-18 years. Qualitative interviews with 21 students were conducted and analyzed using content analysis. The data revealed that the toilets were considered insecure, dirty, and unpleasant. Additionally, students refrained from drinking during school hours and remained in constant movement or jumped up and down to withhold urine and stool. This was illustrated in the following categories: assessing the toilet environment, coping with the situation, and feeling exposed Hence, there is an urgent need to improve the school toilet environment in order to respect the rights of all students to void or defecate when necessary, a process which will require involvement of students, teachers, and other school staff as well as the School Health Service.