Disputation: Fredrik Gasser

Se disputationen live: https://hkr-se.zoom.us/j/66147041319 

Länk till avhandlingen: Person-centred outpatient care for persons with long-term conditions

Ordförande: Anders Jönsson, professor, Högskolan Kristianstad

Opponent: Anders Kottorp, professor, Högskolan i Gävle

Betygsnämnd: Christine Kumlien, professor, Malmö universitet
Patrik Midlöv, professor, Lunds universitet
Annica Backman, docent, Umeå universitet

Abstract

The overall aim of this thesis was to describe the conditions for person-centred 
outpatient care and to further develop and evaluate an instrument to measure 
the degree of person-centredness in outpatient care for persons with long-term 
conditions (LTCs) and its conceptual basis from a patient and practice 
perspective.

The thesis comprises four studies using qualitative and quantitative 
designs. Two studies explored healthcare middle managers’ conceptions of 
opportunities and barriers of working with person-centred care (PCC), and their 
perceptions of a conceptual framework for person-centred outpatient care. Two 
quantitative studies focused on further development, content validity, and 
psychometric evaluation of the Person-Centred Care instrument for outpatient 
care (PCCoc), and on the consistency between empirical item responses and 
the underlying conceptual framework for person-centred outpatient care. 
Results showed that middle managers conceived both opportunities and 
challenges of working with person-centred outpatient care for persons with 
LTCs. While they emphasised staff commitment and potential for personcentred practice, they also described barriers related to organisational 
structures, limited resources, and difficulties in operationalising and evaluating 
PCC.

The conceptual framework, describing person-centred outpatient care as 
a continuum from personalisation through shared decision-making to 
empowerment, was perceived as conceptually clear and practically useful. 
Nevertheless, challenges to its adoption were identified, predominantly related 
to organisational factors, but also to certain aspects of the framework itself. The 
PCCoc was found to be relevant and user-friendly by persons with LTCs, and 
empirical data supported the theoretical assumptions of the underlying 
conceptual framework. These findings suggest that the conceptual framework 
and PCCoc together offer a coherent and empirically grounded foundation for 
assessing and developing person-centred outpatient care for persons with 
LTCs, and may support systematic evaluation and improvement of such care in 
practice.