What is person-centered care?

Together with our global partners in the Person-Centered Hearing Network, we developed this definition:

"Person-centered care (PCC) ensures that people are equal and active partners in the management of their hearing difficulties. Designed around the individual, PCC focuses on and is respectful of people’s needs and preferences, involves family and other communication partners, and includes shared decision-making and goal-setting."

The six elements we consider essential to delivering person-centered care in an audiological environment are:

Active listening

Active or attentive listening can be described as a way of listening and responding to another person that improves mutual understanding. It isn’t about passively sitting and doing nothing, but rather about being present psychologically, socially, and emotionally.

Open-ended questions and reflective conversations

Open-ended communication is designed to introduce an area of inquiry without unduly shaping or focusing the content of the response. It directs the client to a specific area but allows them more discretion in their answer, suggesting that elaboration is both appropriate and welcome.

Empathy

Empathy is often defined as the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.

Involvement of family and friends

The involvement of family and friends in the treatment of any condition is considered one of the cornerstones of person-centered practice. In hearing care, it has the potential to motivate clients’ help-seeking behavior and ultimately the success of the rehabilitation process. Very often clients mention that they have been encouraged by their partner/spouse to make the first appointment.

Shared goal-setting and decision-making

This is a process in which clients, when they reach a decision crossroads in their healthcare, can review all the treatment options available to them and participate actively with their healthcare professional in making that decision.

Understanding of individual preferences

This can be thought of as new information to add to the traditional biomedical case history. It is about finding out what matters to the individual person – exploring their beliefs, ideas, concerns, expectations, feelings, and the effects of their hearing loss on their life.