PERSON CENTERED MEDICINE, WELL-BEING AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Abstract

Background: Person Centered Medicine places the person at the center of the
 concept of health and as the proper target of health actions. This makes positive
 health, including wellbeing and quality of life, a matter of high interest among the
 concepts, procedures and activities of person centered medicine and health.
 Objectives: This paper is aimed at exploring, documenting and discussing the
 concepts and procedures for positive health, particularly well-being and quality of
 life, within the framework of person centered medicine and health.
 Method: For addressing these objectives, first, a selective review of the literature
 was conducted concerning the place of positive health within the recognized
 concepts and practical procedures of the programmatic movement on Person
 Centered Medicine. Then, a more systematic review of the medical and health
 literature was conducted on concepts and procedures for addressing and assessing
 well-being and quality of life within the framework of person centered medicine.
 Results: Findings concerning positive health developments (particularly involving
 well-being and quality of life) produced under the aegis of the International
 College of Person Centered Medicine included, first, its place in the systematic
 conceptualization of person centered medicine, where it is part and parcel of the
 principles on ethics commitment and holistic framework, as well as the principlesbased
 Person-centered Care Index (PCI). Second, positive health is a distinctive
 and prominent element of the informational domains of the Person-centered
 Integrative Diagnosis (PID) model, as well as in practical applications such as the
 Latin American Guide for Psychiatric Diagnosis developed and published by the
 Psychiatric Association of Latin America (APAL). A second set of findings
 emerged from a systematic review of the literature on “Person centered medicine,
 well-being and quality of life”. It yielded 27 papers, dealing with theoretical
 concepts and instrumentation, which were tabularly analyzed. The concepts of
 well-being (WB) and quality of life (QoL) tended to be used interchangeably as
 well as complementarily, with QoL tending to be seen as more encompassing and
 often incorporating WB. Some major well-being studies have used a group of
 instruments to cover key aspects of WB. Several encompassing instruments for
 the assessment of QoL and WB were identified, having a range of features and
 applications. Among the most frequently used seem to be the WHO-instrument
 for Quality of Life and the Multicultural Quality of Life Index.
 Discussion: The importance ascribed to positive health is growing internationally,
 with particular focus on WB and QoL. This is illustrated by the United Nations’
 Sustainable Development Goals, which formulates its Goal on Health in terms of
 promoting healthy lives and well-being for all.
 Conclusions: The importance of QoL and WB in the health field in general and
 in particular for person-centered medicine has been well documented. Some
 useful and encompassing instruments for assessing these concepts have been
 elucidated, which have general applicability and are substantially validated
 internationally.