Process of developing people-centered care

Aim: This study, conducted in the last year of the 5 year Center of Excellence Program, aimed to identify the core elements of the developmental process of implementing people-centered care. Method: The members of the team that conceptualized people-centered care interviewed 25 participants of each research project, including community members. The interview audiotapes were transcribed verbatim and the transcriptions were analyzed using interpretive data. Results: The developmental process identified the core elements of people-centered care: (i) a partnership approach based on equal footing; (ii) capacity-building by partnership; (iii) mutually generating and utilizing organizational care; and (iv) the expansion and development of organizational care. St Luke's College of Nursing, Tokyo, Japan, is using people-centered care to send visionary and philosophical messages to society and to demonstrate the specific approaches and techniques to implement such care. Conclusions: People-centered care is implemented in the community as an organizational model using the core elements of the developmental process. The concept of people-centered care and its realization via a practical approach will be widely applied in future health-care practise, education, and research.