Patient-centered interventions

Patient-centered care is valued in nursing. However, until recently, nurse-researchers have focused on testing the effects of standardized rather than patient-centered interventions (PCIs). The latter are those interventions that are altered to address selected patient characteristics (e.g., beliefs, habits, or goals). PCIs have been well received, and in some studies they have been associated with improved health outcomes. In this article we describe briefly the concept patient centered, summarize the development of research on PC Is, discuss kinds of PC Is, provide examples of PC Is and how they have been derived and implemented, and raise issues for theory and future research. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.