The person in the room: How relating holistically contributes to an effective patient-care provider alliance

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore how relating to the ‘whole’ person – both the physical body and the invisible aspects of the ‘self’ – is essential in the establishment of a strong therapeutic alliance between patients and health care providers. Our work is based on interviews conducted with individuals affected by neurological illnesses (patients and family care providers). Hsieh and Shannon’s (2005) conventional content analysis was used to analyze the data. Under the broad theme of ‘maintaining a coherent sense of self’ we identified four distinct sub-themes related to interactions with health care providers. The results elucidate the more complex and deep needs of patients who must access care on an ongoing basis, and highlight the important role that care providers play in supporting individuals who are experiencing physical, spiritual and social losses. Care must attend to the deep needs of these individuals by communicating in a style that addresses both emotional and cognitive needs of patients, by thorough and holistic assessment and by appropriate referrals.

Living with Parkinson's disease – perceptions of invisibility in a photovoice study

“…This care-giving role, where the care-giver maintains the selfhood of her ill partner, has been observed in previous studies (Karner and Bobbitt-Zeher 2005; Penner and Rogers 2012). While we were not exploring the gendered aspects of this relationship, it is clear that Bindy was assuming a more traditional female care-giving role.…”

“…A few recent Canadian studies have made an effort to study the Canadian experience of living with Parkinson's disease, including investigating the patient response to a Parkinson's diagnosis (Gofton and Jog 2008), patients' satisfaction with health services (Burns and Jensen 2012) and their ‘everyday experience of living with and managing a neurological condition’ (the LINC Study; Versnel et al 2013). In addition, Roger and colleagues identified a need to conduct research with a local and regional focus, examining patients' perceptions of communication with informal and formal care providers (Penner and Roger 2012; Roger and Medved 2010; Roger, Medved and Mary-Quigley 2010; Roger and Penner 2012; Roger et al 2014).…”

Spiritual care as an integrated approach to palliative care for patients with neurodegenerative diseases and their caregivers: a literature review

“…(42). Accordingly, the most difficult challenge for people with neurodegenerative diseases is maintaining a sense of self in the context of a neurological condition (43)(44)(45)(46)(47). Patients cannot be left alone with the feeling of losing self (48).…”

“…Penner et al suggest "care must attend to the deep needs of these individuals by communicating in a style that addresses both emotional and cognitive needs of patients, by thorough and holistic assessment and by appropriate referrals." (46).…”