Use of a Person-Centered Narrative Intervention in an Outpatient Palliative Care Setting: A Feasibility Study

• Published in: Journal of patient experience 2023-01, Vol.10, p.23743735231202729-23743735231202729
• Main Authors: Coats, Heather, Shive, Nadia, Bennett, C Robert, Adrian, Bonnie, Boyd, Andrew D, Doorenbos, Ardith Z, Schmiege, Sarah J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Clinical outcomes; Feasibility studies; Technology and Digital Innovations in Patient Experience; Well being
• ISSN: 2374-3735; 2374-3743
• DOI: 10.1177/23743735231202729

Person-centered narrative interventions offer potential solutions to facilitate a connection between the person receiving care and the person delivering the care, to improve quality of care, and positively impact a patient's biopsychosocial well-being. This single-arm feasibility study investigates patient-reported outcomes and barriers/facilitators to the implementation of an all-virtually delivered person-centered narrative intervention into the person's electronic health record. Overall, electronic data collection for the patient-reported outcomes was feasible. All 15 participants felt participating in the study was “easy” and “enjoyable,” and “not a burden.” The facilitators of implementation included: “helpful to the clinician,” “appreciated looking at me as whole person,” “be seen and heard,” “had a connection and trust,” and “felt comfortable and relaxing.” The barriers to implementation included: “completing all the paperwork,” “being rushed for time to complete the PCNI,” and some “emotion” during collection of narrative. The use of person-centered narrative interventions is a way to deploy dedicated tools to shift dehumanized healthcare delivery to a more humanized person-centered care that treats people as experts in their own life narratives by incorporating their beliefs, values, and preferences into their plan of care.