Towards collaborative practice in hospital care
Towards collaborative practice in hospital care
Healthcare is changing. Hospital stays are becoming shorter, making effective coordination between hospital care and the home setting increasingly important. Family members play an important role throughout the illness trajectory and possess valuable knowledge and experience. Yet, during hospitalization, they are still often regarded primarily as visitors. As a result, their perspectives and knowledge are not fully utilized, they are not always meaningfully involved in the care process, and they are not always well prepared for the transition home after discharge.
This dissertation of Josien Woldring shows that high-quality hospital care is not only about the relationship between patients and healthcare professionals, but also about collaboration among patients, family members, and healthcare professionals. This form of collaboration, referred to as collaborative practice, is based on an equal partnership in which each party contributes from their own role. Family members want to remain involved, but they do not necessarily want to take over caregiving responsibilities.
Sustainable collaboration begins with acknowledgement. Acknowledging family members as partners in care creates opportunities for alignment through open conversations about expectations, roles, capabilities, and boundaries. Only then can genuine collaboration emerge, enabling the knowledge and strengths of all involved to be fully utilized.
Future-proof hospital care requires a shift from patient-centred care to a family systems approach, supported by healthcare professionals and organizations that structurally embed family involvement in everyday practice.