Introduction to Special Issue on Patient-centered Care

There is a dearth of research on patient-centered care for individuals with mental illness. This caught my attention and therefore this special edition of Issues in Mental Health Nursing focuses on patient-centered care of individuals with mental illness. To set the stage, in the U.S. patient-centered care (PCC) was established as a philosophy of health care delivery by the 1985 American Nurses Association Code for Nurses where patients “themselves are the primary decision makers in matters concerning their own health, treatment, and wellbeing, and the goal of nursing actions is to support and enhance the patient's responsibility and self-determination to the greatest extent possible” (p. 1, as cited in Lutz & Bowers, 2000). Bechel, Myers, and Smith (2000) defined PCC as health care that involves the patients in decision making, intensifies patient/provider communication and understanding and finally, includes caregivers/family members in the team.

Psychiatric-mental health nurses who care for patients with mental illness embrace the principles and values of patient-centered care, but providing PCC presents challenges. In this issue, authors share experiences, strategies and insights into these challenges. The issue includes a balance of research findings, both qualitative and quantitative, and review of research related to PCC. Burmeister and colleagues examined the use of peer technology training with older adults to increase their opportunities for social connectedness. Bernoth et al. discussed program evaluation of community support workers through interviews with community dwelling older adults. The support workers provided care geared toward reducing functional deterioration and improving quality of life for these elders. A participatory care approach and integrated health teams were central to the program. Elder and her team presented results of interviews conducted with caregivers of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and community providers for the purpose of understanding stakeholders’ perceptions of barriers to treatment for individuals with ASD. Soltis-Jarrett reported project outcomes following implementation of an Advanced Nursing Education training grant. The purpose of the project was to “re-integrate” mental health across health care settings and “re-claim” the role of consultant/liaison to acute and primary care for the psychiatric-mental health nurse. Velligan and colleagues presented findings from focus groups with persons with serious mental illness and groups of their caregivers about their participation in shared decision making. Behenck, Gomes, and Heldt assessed patient ratings of cognitive-behavioral group therapy with regard to improvement of group therapeutic factors such as improvement in symptoms, ratings of altruism, family re-enactment, and self-understanding, among others. Lesser and Paleo conducted a synthesis of research focusing on person-centered medical health care and recovery-oriented services. Lastly, Bellamy et al. examined barriers and facilitators to integrated physical and mental health care reported by patients treated at a co-located wellness center.

The jury is still out on the success of PCC in today's fragmented and complex health care systems. Heightened attention to PCC should have far-reaching effects on global health care systems with goals to integrate medical and mental health care delivery. As psychiatric-mental health nurses continue to individualize health care provision to meet patient mental and physical identified needs, integration may be optimal to improve access to comprehensive care for those individuals with mental illness.

It has been a privilege to serve as guest editor for this themed issues devoted to PCC of individuals with mental illness. The gap in this research was successfully narrowed!

Declaration of Interest: The author reports no conflict of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this paper.