1 Understanding the process of patient participation

A number of trends, pressures and policy shifts are promoting greater patient involvement in health care delivery through consultations, treatments and continuing care. However, while the literature on different methods of involvement is growing fast, little attention has been given so far to the role which patients themselves wish to play, or to the conceptual meanings behind involvement or participation. This introductory chapter sets the scene for the book by delineating areas of research relating to patient participation in health care consultations. It outlines some findings from previous research, models for practice that reflect aspects of patient participation, and some interventions designed to promote it. Against the background of this existing work, this chapter introduces the potential of qualitative methods and empirical research, the orientation of this book, for understanding what patient participation means, how it works, how it may be practised, and how it may be measured.