Individual user involvement at Healthy Life Centres: a qualitative study exploring the perspective of health professionals

The aim of this study was to explore how professionals experience user involvement at an individual level and how they describe involving users at Healthy Life Centres. Four focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 23 professionals. Data were analysed using systematic text condensation. Four themes were identified: (1) Involving users through motivational interviewing; (2) Building a good and trustful relation; (3) Assessing and adjusting to the user's needs and life situation; and (4) Strengthening the user's ownership and participation in the lifestyle change process. Motivational interviewing was described by the professionals as a way to induce and ensure user involvement. However, seeing motivational interviewing and user involvement as the same concept might reduce user involvement from being a goal in itself and evolve into a means of achieving lifestyle changes. The professionals might be facing opposing discourses in their practice and a dilemma of promoting autonomy and involvement and at the same time promoting change in a predefined direction. Greater emphasis should thus be put on systematic reflection among professionals about what user involvement implies in the local Healthy Life Centre context and in each user's situation.