Advancing patient-centred care through knowledge development.

The call for health-care services that are patient-centred raises the need for knowledge development in both the conceptual and empirical domains. The definitions and operational elements of patient-centred care present a variety of conceptual issues. A common element in all definitions is accommodation of patient wants, preferences, and expectations. In the research domain, intervention studies face both design and measurement challenges. These include the development of interventions that are patient-centred or tailored for both patient characteristics and the environment in which they will be delivered. By addressing these critical issues, nursing can play a key role in advancing intervention science and knowledge development in the domain of patient-centred care.