The person-centred approach has been a prominent focus of research in recent years, as it is considered to have a positive impact on health promotion and outcomes (McCormack et al. 2015). As healthcare becomes increasingly digitalized, the importance of a person-centred approach is emphasized in the development of digital health solutions that support users and promote their agency and inclusion in managing their own health and well-being (WHO 2021).

The many aspects of person-centred approach and digital health

The foundation of person-centredness lies in respecting the uniqueness of each individual, with a strong emphasis on involving the person in decisions about their own life (Waters & Buchanan 2017). In the context of healthcare, person-centredness highlights the importance of multidisciplinary approaches. While healthcare professionals play a central role in patient interactions and the implementation of health-related interventions and guidance, the broader structures and stakeholders operating within the healthcare ecosystem are also essential in developing practices that promote person-centredness (McCormack et al. 2015).At its core, the person-centred approach is built on the creation of a supportive culture within the ecosystem that contributes to the implementation of these practices. This culture fosters shared values and goals, which are translated into shared practices that provide practical means to support professionals in delivering person-centred care (Edgar et al. 2020).

Digital health is a broad concept that encompasses not only digital solutions but also the operational models and processes through which healthcare is delivered. While digital tools play a significant role—ranging from self-care applications to comprehensive systems that support healthcare providers—digital health extends beyond technology alone (WHO 2023). In developing digital health solutions, human-centred design is essential. It focuses on understanding users’ needs and creating solutions collaboratively with both users and other stakeholders (Landry 2020). It is also important to recognise that digital health functions as its own ecosystem, requiring contributions from a wide range of actors across development, implementation, and service delivery (Aguirre-Duarte, 2024).

FIGURE 1. ChatGPT (2025), “Person-centred approach in digital health development”. Generated with OpenAI’s AI tool.

Understanding how person-centred approach is realized in a client organization

This thesis stems from acuriosity to understand how person-centred approach is currently realized in a client organization that operates in the health care sector, providing comprehensive ICT-services to health care providers. Both person-centred care and digital health are inherently multi-stakeholder efforts, and in the context of digital health development, the role of developers and digital health experts is particularly significant. Existing research highlights both the effectiveness and the challenges of implementing digital health solutions, as well as the importance of involving IT experts in these processes. However, while digital health developers are recognised as key stakeholders in supporting healthcare organizations in delivering quality services, there is limited research on their specific role in promoting and enabling person-centred approaches.

The data were collected through semi-structured group interviews and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. A total of 13 volunteers from the client organization participated in the study. Five themes were identified, as listed below:

– In person-centred approach various aspects need to be considered

– The patient is mostly identified as a central actor of operations by acknowledging them using different methods

– Understanding and clarifying various needs should guide development

– The goal is to deploy digital health solutions that are easy to use, flexible, accessible and safe

– There are internal factors in the company’s operation culture that both support and hinder the implementation of person-centred approach

What should be done next?

To further support the implementation of a person-centred approach within the client organization, a cross-cutting perspective is needed. The findings indicate that many elements of the person-centred approach are aligned with existing knowledge and are already integrated into the organization’s operations. However, fully embracing person-centredness in digital health development requires a more comprehensive and organization-wide foundation that fosters a person-centred culture. A key challenge identified in the client organization’s operations is the presence of silos. Although the person-centred approach appears to be somewhat reflected at both strategic and operational levels, siloed structures hinder open and effective collaboration between different units and the experts within them. Moving forward, person-centredness could be more explicitly embedded in the company’s strategies and values—and communicated clearly—to help translate these principles into daily operations and reduce the challenges caused by siloing.

Another issue that appears to be linked to fostering a person-centred culture is the challenge of communication between healthcare organizations and stakeholders involved in digital health development, particularly in understanding the needs of all parties. Addressing this requires the client organization to identify the underlying factors causing these communication difficulties. Are they local issues, or is there a broader factor at play?

As mentioned before, building an ecosystem that embraces both person-centred approach and digitalization requires a culture that shares common visions and goals of all stakeholders, including policy-makers. Both person-centred approach and digitalization has been established as a cornerstone in Finnish policies and guidelines, such as in Strategy for digitalisation and information management in healthcare and social welfare (STM 2024). However, these policies tend to focus more on the healthcare environment and its processes, often overlooking the role of supporting stakeholders. This gap was also evident during the thesis process, as it was challenging to find existing literature addressing the role of other supporting stakeholders in developing person-centred digital health solutions. Given the limited research and the relatively narrow focus of the guidelines, how effectively can local cultures and cooperation models be built?

The research also revealed that a lack of competence in person-centred approaches was partly identified as a challenge. This gap can result in patients not being recognized as central actors, thus preventing essential needs from being adequately considered during development. Moving forward, operations and organizational culture could be enhanced by providing training and education for experts in person-centred approaches. This would help ensure that future digital solutions are more strongly focused on supporting individual needs and improving healthcare functionality. However, existing literature on person-centred competence and education mainly targets the healthcare environment and pays less attention to whether other supporting stakeholders also require such training. There is a clear need for scientific research to explore how and by what methods stakeholders could most effectively be educated about the person-centred approach. Such research would equip educational institutions with the knowledge to develop curricula that promote these competencies among a broader range of stakeholders and professionals.

Authors:

Pauliina Kämäräinen, Master of Global Public Health, Savonia University of Applied Sciences

Maria Luojus, Principal lecturer, Savonia University of Applied Sciences

References:

Artificial intelligence has been used in the work as follows:

ChatGPT 2025. OpenAI. GPT-4o-mini model. Accessed for language check and formulating the image, May 2025. https://chat.openai.com.

Aguirre-Duarte, Nelson. 2024. Connecting the Dots: Digital Ecosystems and Interoperability’s Essential Role in Achieving Integrated care and Person-Centred care. An influential analysis of applied research in practice. 10.13140/RG.2.2.24895.32166.

Edgar, D., Wilson, V. & Moroney, T. 2020-05-13. Which is it, person-centred culture, practice or care? It matters. International practice development journal. 10(1). 1-17. doi:10.19043/ipdj.101.008

McCormack B., Borg M., Cardiff S., Dewing J., Jacobs G., Janes N., Karlsson B., McCance T., Mekki T.E., Porock, D., van Lieshout F. & Wilson V. 2015. Person-centredness – the ‘state’ of the art. International practice development journal. 5, Special Issue on Person-centredness, Article 1. https://doi.org/10.19043/ipdj.5SP.003

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Waters, R.A.& Buchanan, A. 2017. An exploration of person-centred concepts in human services: A thematic analysis of the literature. Health Policy. 121(10), 1031-1039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2017.09.003.

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