Multimorbidity and person-centred care in a socioeconomically deprived community: a qualitative study

Background: People with multimorbidity (>2 long-term conditions) have poorer outcomes in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation (SED). High-quality person-centred care (PCC) is important in those with multimorbidity, but socially vulnerable populations have not, to our knowledge, informed current PCC models.

Aim: To explore how wider community factors influence management of multimorbidity in the context of high SED, how high-quality PCC is defined by patients, and whether this influences healthcare management.

Design and setting: Ethnographically informed case study in a community experiencing high SED in Scotland.

Method: Participant observation (138 h) was undertaken within four community groups who also took part in two participatory workshops. There were 25 in-depth interviews with people with multimorbidity, recruited from local general practices; emerging findings were discussed with interviewees in one focus group. Field notes/transcripts were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results: Key aspects of PCC were 'patient as person', 'strong therapeutic relationship', 'coordination of care', and 'power sharing'; power sharing was particularly enabling but rarely happened (barriers often unseen by practitioners). Shared community experiences of 'being known', 'stigma', and 'none of the systems working' influenced how people approached health services and healthcare decisions. High-quality PCC may have been particularly effective in this setting because of its influence on ameliorating wider shared negative community experiences.

Conclusion: In a high SED setting PCC is important and can enhance engagement. Wider community factors have a critical influence on engagement with health care in areas of high SED and PCC may be particularly important in this context because of its influence ameliorating these. Policymakers should prioritise and resource PCC.