Care in emergencies and disasters: Can it be person-centered?

Objectives: While person-/patient-centered care aims to influence policymakers’ rules and regulations to improve the care of individuals worldwide, exploration of the concept in the context of disaster and public health emergencies as an alternative ethical approach is lacking. This study aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the advantages and challenges of diverse ethical approaches in emergencies, to improve patient care.

Methods: A survey, created after several rounds of Delphi methodology, with 22 statements, was applied to 39 participants from nine different countries. The questionnaire’s results, including participants’ comments, were analyzed.

Results: The results show that practitioners chose to use a combination of diverse ethical approaches in managing victims of disasters and public health emergencies.

Conclusion: The selection of an approach is context- and situation-dependent and seems to primarily respond to the nature of underlying etiology, creating a possibility to use diverse approaches to offer individualized care on a later occasion and when a flexible surge capacity is available.

Practice Implications: The outcomes of this study will enhance the future ethical discussion in person/patient-centered care during situations with limited resources and help to develop necessary ethical and educational guidelines.