Perceived person‑centred care and work performance in Swedish health and social care staff

Background

Health and social care systems worldwide face persistent workforce shortages and high staff turnover. Person-centered care (PCC) has been proposed as an approach to improve quality of care, patient satisfaction with care, and staff working conditions.

Aim

To examine the cross-sectional association between perceived PCC and work performance among health and social care staff.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used baseline data from the PCC@work project. A web-based survey was developed, pilot-tested and distributed to staff in hospitals, primary care, and municipal care in western Sweden. Perceived PCC was measured using an adapted version of the Person-Centered Care Assessment Tool (P-CAT). As indicators of work performance, we used the Work ability scale (WAS), derived from item 1 of the Work Ability Index (WAI), and a 12-item version of the Capacity to Work Index (C2WI). Potential covariates included gender, age, profession, overtime work, tenure at the current workplace, experience of PCC, mental wellbeing, and self-reported sickness absence.

Results

The study included 2 197 participants. Participants with P-CAT scores ≤25 reported a mean WAS of 6.97 and a mean C2WI of 33.24, whereas those with P-CAT scores >52 reported a mean WAS of 8.51 and a mean C2WI of 18.86. Higher P-CAT scores significantly correlated with lower C2WI score (r =-0.392) and higher WAS (r = 0.259). Thus, lower perceived PCC was associated with reduced work ability and more strained work capacity, while higher perceived PCC was associated with better work performance outcomes.

Conclusions

This study identified a significant association between perceived PCC and work performance. Future prospective studies are needed to clarify causal relationships. The findings give an indication of how PCC and work performance, not earlier studied, can be mutually beneficial.

Key messages

• Among Swedish healthcare professionals, higher person-centred care scores were linked to better overall work ability (WAS).

• Among Swedish healthcare professionals, higher person‑centred care scores were associated with better mental work capacity (C2WI).