Abstract
BackgroundFamily-centered care, as a contemporary model of health service delivery, involves a mutually beneficial partnership between healthcare providers, patients and their families. Although evidence on the positive effects of family-centered care on older adults and their families is accumulating, less is known about the providers’ beliefs, attitudes and practices related to family-centeredness, especially regarding community-based primary healthcare services for the rapidly-ageing Chinese population.MethodsThis study investigated Chinese primary care providers’ perceptions and experiences of family-centered care for older adults, using community-based diabetes management services as an example. Ten focus-group interviews involving 48 community health professionals were conducted. Major themes were identified using thematic analysis.ResultsThe interviews revealed that the providers acknowledged the importance of the family in older patients’ diabetes management, while their current scope of practice with the patients’ families was limited and informal. The barriers to implementing family-centered care were attributed to structural and environmental obstacles associated with the patients’ families and the community healthcare context and culture. To engage patients’ families more effectively, the providers suggested that family-centered values endorsed by their healthcare organizations and reinforced by policies, a trained interdisciplinary team of health professionals and community social workers, and also that the utilization of technology would be beneficial.ConclusionsOur study extends the evidence of family-centered care for older adults in Chinese community-based healthcare settings, contributing to the design of a tailored healthcare delivery model embodying ageing in place.
Highlights
With a rapidly ageing population and large proportion of older adults with chronic diseases and disabilities, the healthcare system in China has shifted its main objective from pure disease treatment to prevention and management at the population level [1]
The idea of actively engaging family in care conveys the vision of mutually beneficial partnerships between healthcare providers, patients and their families [7], and the family-centered care model has been promoted as a contemporary model of health service delivery over the last few decades [8]
Since the establishment of the National Basic Public Health Service Program in 2009, community healthcare centers have been responsible for health management for older adults, patients with hypertension and diabetes [20]
Summary
With a rapidly ageing population and large proportion of older adults with chronic diseases and disabilities, the healthcare system in China has shifted its main objective from pure disease treatment to prevention and management at the population level [1]. Residents are able to register with a family doctor team, who can provide them with integrated preventive and primary care, plus continued referral services [3]. This community-based disease prevention and management approach offers the advantages of wide coverage and easy accessibility for patients and their families [4]. Family-centered care, as a contemporary model of health service delivery, involves a mutually beneficial partnership between healthcare providers, patients and their families. Evidence on the positive effects of family-centered care on older adults and their families is accumulating, less is known about the providers’ beliefs, attitudes and practices related to family-centeredness, especially regarding community-based primary healthcare services for the rapidly-ageing Chinese population
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