Parents as co-producers in the healthcare system: Individual perspectives and consequences for educational concepts

Introduction and objectives: In selected healthcare sectors and settings, patients and their relatives are now regarded as co-producers of the healthcare system. This is associated with modified patient roles and new relationship models. Physiotherapists also have to face them by including educational interventions into their traditional scope of practice. However, corresponding intervention concepts for physiotherapy do not yet exist. Therefore, the aim of this contribution is to initiate an empirically supported concept development. Methods: As part of a qualitative empirical study, interviews were conducted with 15 parents of children with life-limiting diseases in four federal states of Germany and then evaluated using the reconstruction method of the documentary method according to Bohnsack. The parents' experiences with the assumption of physiotherapeutic care were used as input for first reflections on an instructive intervention concept with reference to relevant learning theory approaches. Results: In the course of the data evaluation, three divergent orientations (parent types) were identified. Parent type A (autonomy) acts largely autonomously and requires only occasional support. Parent type B (understanding) and C (relief) need more intensive support. While parent type B requires education in order to satisfy their pronounced need for knowledge, parent type C generally questions why they should have to carry out physiotherapeutic task and delegates responsibility back to the professional help system. Discussion: Physiotherapeutic instruction should take into account the different types of parents with regard to the provision of care. Parents who are motivated to engage in learning processes would like to a) focus on central physiotherapeutic measures, b) be instructed face-to-face and c) be recognized as experts for their child and their situation. Conclusion: Supplemented by the perspective of professionals, insights into the parents' perspective can serve as the basis for empirical impact analysis. The empirically validated intervention concepts for instructive action must be integrated into existing educational, training and further education courses in order to ensure systematic dissemination of knowledge into physiotherapy. In addition, a debate on professional policy must be launched in order to secure instructive action more strongly in the physiotherapeutic repertoire.