Skills for person-centred care: health professionals supporting chronic condition prevention and self-management

Abstract

With the growing burden of chronic conditions, and the sheer volume of expected demand for health services over the coming decades, it will become increasingly important for health service providers to work smarter and more collaboratively with one another and with service users. Building cooperative models of practice that overcome traditional turf sensitivities between professionals, and that overcome structural boundaries between services, will be challenging. Underpinning this, and arguably more important and elusive, is the challenge for health professionals to truly understand how their input impacts on service consumers.