Nurses' refusals of patient involvement in their own palliative care

The European Standard EN 17398:2020 on Patient Involvement in Health Care - a Fairclough-Inspired Critical Discourse Analysis

The concept of ‘patient involvement’ is highlighted in healthcare. However, hindrances can prevent its implementation. This article explored how ‘patient involvement’ is understood and on what ideas this understanding is based through a critical textual analysis of the European document on patient involvement in health systems using a Fairclough-inspired critical discourse analysis. The findings showed that the document arose from a social discourse based on a mix of a neoliberal ideology, with a marketisation of care focusing on a cost-effective and evidence-based logic of care, and a humanistic ideology of patient involvement. It had the form of a normative, consensus-based standard, supported by European organisations. The document incorporated a visionary, well-intentioned abstract guide to promote patient involvement across European care contexts, however without addressing hindrances nor differences across the contexts in which it ought to be implemented. It raises questions about its usability, inviting further research into empirical applications.

Universal healthcare coverage, patients' rights, and nurse-patient communication: a critical review of the evidence

The Sustainable Development Goals adopted by world leaders on September 25, 2015, aimed to end poverty and hunger, promote gender equity, empower women and girls, and ensure human dignity and equality by all human beings in a healthy environment. These development goals were premised on international human rights norms and institutions, thereby acknowledging the relevance of human rights in achieving each goal. Particularly, sustainable development goal 3, whose objective is to achieve universal health coverage, enhance healthy lives, and promote well-being for all, implicitly recognizes the right to health as crucial. Our focus in this paper is to discuss how promoting patients’ rights and enhancing effective nurse-patient communication in the healthcare setting is a significant and necessary way to achieve universal health coverage. Through a critical review of the empirical research evidence, we demonstrated that enhancing patients’ rights and effect nurse-patient communication will promote people-centered care, improve patients’ satisfaction of care outcomes, increase utilization of care services, and empower individuals and families to self-advocate for their health. These steps directly impact primary healthcare strategies and the social determinants of health as core components to achieving universal health coverage. We argue that without paying attention to the human rights dimensions or employing human rights strategies, implementing the other efforts will be inadequate and unsustainable in protecting the poorest and most vulnerable populations in the achievement of goal 3.

The construction of the responsible patient in complex palliative care: interpreting palliative care policies

Background:

To contribute with knowledge to health policy development, this article presents a critical discourse analysis of two Norwegian official reports on palliative care published in 1999 and 2017.

Methods:

We identify, describe and discuss how linguistic features in policy documents contribute to and engender a distinct change from 1999 to 2017 in how patients are framed, documenting the development of palliative care.

Results:

The analysis identifies and considers two interwoven discourses: the discourse of accountability and the discourse of complexity. The patient moves from being described as in need of care, in the 1999 report, to being described as an active and responsible patient making proper choices, in the 2017 report.

Conclusion:

Result of this policy development might be less involvement of professionals and focus on existential questions, and more responsibility on patients for their prospective wellbeing and health: a change that we argue should be considered and counteracted in upcoming policy processes considering palliative care.

Requirements for building educational and care technology on heart failure

ABSTRACT Objectives: to investigate the requirements for building an educational and care application about heart failure. Methods: exploratory study, carried out with 15 people with heart failure and 19 family members/caregivers, assisted in a tertiary unit in the Brazilian Northeast. Individual semi-structured interviews were carried out between November and December 2020. Hannah Arendt’s theoretical framework was adopted. Results: two units of meaning emerged: “The plurality of care in heart failure” and “Expectations on the construction and use of educational and care technology for heart failure”. The requirements involved the need to know the disease and its nuances, as well as the health network, through an application that can minimize individual and social precariousness; and highlighted the importance of the participation of the multidisciplinary team in the development and dissemination of the application. Conclusions: requirements on educational and care technology were identified and will support the creation of an application that promotes care, aiming to obtain positive health outcomes.