Universal Personalised Care: Expanding Personalised Approaches Across Healthcare Settings
The Shift Toward Universal Personalised Care
Early efforts in personalised care predominantly focused on individuals with long-term conditions or those accessing social care services. In these scenarios, healthcare professionals often develop ongoing relationships over multiple visits, facilitating the implementation of tailored strategies. However, for professionals working with acute conditions or in environments with limited continuity of care, adopting personalised approaches may feel less intuitive or more challenging.
The NHS Long Term Plan reimagines this dynamic, advocating for personalised care to become universal. This ambitious vision spans all ages, demographics, and healthcare settings, aiming to ensure that every individual—regardless of their health concerns—receives care that reflects their values, priorities, and circumstances.
Despite its proven benefits, some professionals remain hesitant to apply personalised care in fast-paced or transient care settings. This reluctance often mirrors the uncertainty that service users experience when faced with lifestyle changes to improve their health. Both highlight the critical need for clear, actionable strategies to facilitate meaningful change.
Challenges and Solutions
Challenge: Limited time to deliver personalised care.
Solution: Use collaborative agenda setting to streamline conversations and prioritise effectively. By asking individuals what matters most to them, actively listening, and setting mutually agreed goals, professionals can make personalised care practical and impactful, even in time-constrained environments.
Collaborative Agenda Setting
What is it?
Collaborative agenda setting engages individuals by prioritising their needs and goals in structured conversations. This approach saves time while fostering productive and meaningful interactions.
Key Benefits:
- Builds trust and rapport.
- Provides insights into individual values and priorities.
- Clarifies objectives for all parties.
- Maximises the impact of limited consultation time.
- Encourages shared ownership of care goals.
When to Use Collaborative Agenda Setting:
- At the start of face-to-face or virtual consultations.
- During group sessions or multidisciplinary meetings.
- When a carer, friend, or family member accompanies the individual.
- Before the consultation, allowing time to prepare and align goals.
Challenge: Navigating the relationship between problems, solutions, and risks.
Solution: Foster shared responsibility by understanding what actions the individual has already undertaken. Use open-ended questions to explore their perspective, then signpost resources or options that empower them to make informed decisions. This approach reinforces collaboration and shared decision-making.
Core Skills for Collaborative Problem Solving
Effective problem solving requires professionals to:
- Explore past efforts: Build on what the individual has already tried.
- Ask before advising: Ensure recommendations align with the individual’s context and values.
- Signpost resources: Provide additional support and guidance.
These skills foster shared responsibility, ensuring solutions are both practical and collaborative.
Challenge: Helping individuals move forward with confidence.
Solution: Use personalised action planning to support incremental progress. By addressing concerns and focusing on priorities, professionals can help individuals build confidence and maintain momentum toward their goals.
Action Planning as a Tool for Universal Personalised Care
The Role of Action Planning
Action planning offers a practical framework for individuals to achieve their health goals. Unlike traditional models where goals are imposed by professionals, action planning prioritises the individual’s perspective. Goals are collaboratively developed to ensure they are meaningful, achievable, and aligned with the individual’s life circumstances.
Effective action plans must:
- Reflect the individual’s values and priorities.
- Be grounded in personal choice, not external directives.
- Provide manageable challenges that build confidence upon achievement.
The Importance of Motivation and Confidence:
- Motivation arises from understanding why a goal is important.
- Confidence ensures feasibility by identifying and addressing barriers.
Reflective questions such as “Why is this goal important to you?” or “What might increase your confidence?” can clarify motivations and reveal obstacles.
Using the SMARTER Framework
The SMARTER framework (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound, Evaluate, Review) ensures clarity and accountability. It helps individuals define clear steps toward their goals while maintaining flexibility to adapt as circumstances change.
Key Components of the Framework:
- Define specific actions: What will be done, when, and how success will be measured.
- Schedule follow-ups: Evaluate progress, identify barriers, and adjust plans as needed.
The Broader Impact of Personalised Action Planning
For Individuals:
Action planning empowers individuals by breaking goals into smaller, actionable steps. This fosters progress, builds confidence, and encourages ownership of health outcomes. For instance, a person recovering from surgery might start by walking 10 minutes daily, gradually increasing duration each week. These small, attainable steps make progress tangible and confidence-building.
For Healthcare Professionals:
Supporting individuals in achieving meaningful goals enhances professional satisfaction and fosters deeper collaboration, creating a more fulfilling care experience.
Universal Personalised Care: The Path Forward
Personalised care is no longer limited to specific groups or settings. The vision of universal personalised care ensures that every individual receives support tailored to their needs, values, and circumstances. By embedding tools like collaborative agenda setting and action planning into routine practice, healthcare professionals can bridge the gap between aspiration and reality.
This approach strengthens the foundation of trust, shared decision-making, and empowerment that defines high-quality healthcare, paving the way for truly universal personalised care. Every interaction becomes an opportunity to make a meaningful impact—one individual at a time.