Co-Creating a strategy for Transforming Person Centred Cultures

Kate Hackett¹Suzanne Murray^1,2Tanya McCance^3,4,5Daniel Shaw¹Karen Tuqiri^1,2,4*

• ¹South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, New South Wales Department of Health, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• ²University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
• ³Institute of Nursing and Health Research, Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, United Kingdom
• ⁴University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• ⁵Institute for Global Health and Development, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, England, United Kingdom

Transforming healthcare systems to support person-centred practice reflects environments where individual values and beliefs are respected and where healthful cultures can flourish. However, there are significant challenges within healthcare systems that impact on the development of healthful workplace cultures. The nursing and midwifery professions need to play an influential role in formulating health policy and decision-making to contribute to health and social care systems that are underpinned by person-centredness. This paper reports the use of a practice development approach underpinned by the Person-Centred Practice Framework to co-create a strategy for nurses and midwives that will enable the development of person-centred healthcare practices. The key objectives are to demonstrate the processes that support co-creation to build consensus on what is strategically important to nurses and midwives; to gain an understanding of the value of external facilitation throughout the process and exploring the challenges encountered during the development of the strategy. Practice Development methodology was the approach used with skilled facilitation adopted to enable the working with values and beliefs, defining purpose and vision and establishing agreed working principles and behaviours. Consensus building methods were used to co-create draft strategy priorities further defined by wider stakeholder engagement. Results A 5-year strategy was co-created with senior nursing and midwifery leaders, inclusive of key strategic priority areas and strategic actions. The seven priority areas align to the Person-Centred Practice Framework .•Developing Person-Centred Cultures •Creating a Supportive Practice Environment •Building Research Capacity •Building a Dynamic Workforce •Fostering Leadership at all Levels •Enhancing Digital Informatics and New Technologies •Delivering High Quality, Safe Person-Centred Care They provide a roadmap for implementation across the many nursing and midwifery contexts providing a solid foundation for leading and supporting person-centred practice across a large local health district with a focus on what matters most while continuing to be innovative in approaches to practice. The development of a clear shared purpose of person-centred practice and the exploration of values were critical first steps in the development of the strategy and provided a clear foundation from which the nursing and midwifery leaders could utilise for the ongoing strategic priorities and action discussions.