| Popis: |
Introduction The centrality of the patient to health care has been increasingly recognised both politically and professionally. Patient-centred care has become synonymous with high-quality care and a number of studies have reinforced patient's desire for, and the positive impact of the approach. Although the concept emerged over 30 years ago, it is still not clear what it is, upon what theories it is based, or how to measure it. Whilst the concept has been explored within medicine, nursing and other allied health professions, within physiotherapy there has only been minimal discussion. The aim of this research was to explore the meaning of patient-centred care in relation to low back pain, from the perspective of musculoskeletal physiotherapists. Methods Purposive sampling was initially used to select participants. Subsequently theoretical sampling was adopted whereby analysis of the data informed the sample selection. Nine musculoskeletal physiotherapists agreed to participate in the study. They ranged in experience from five to 25 years. Individual semi- structured interviews were adopted as the method of data collection. The interviews were audio taped and then transcribed verbatim. Analysis broadly followed the Grounded Theory approach outlined by Strauss and Corbin (1990). It consisted of a process of open, axial and selective coding. Constant comparative analysis resulted in the identification with a core category and three inter-related sub-categories and the development of a substantive theory of patient-centred care. |
