Person-centered Healthcare and Health Communication

Our Vision:
A rehabilitation and care system that is person-centred, learning-oriented, and responsive, where high-quality communication, shared decision-making, and effective use of evidence support the autonomy, participation, and quality of life of people with spinal cord injury across the entire continuum of care, from initial rehabilitation to life in the community.

Our Mission:
We aim to generate and translate evidence that strengthens person-centred care and communication in rehabilitation and long-term care. Our work focuses on the lived experiences, decision-making processes, and communication practices of people with spinal cord injury, their relatives, and healthcare professionals.

Our interdisciplinary and application-oriented research programme combines qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches, with a strong qualitative core. Conceptually, our work is grounded in person-centred healthcare, health communication, and the biopsychosocial model of functioning, disability, and health (ICF). Our goal is to produce knowledge that can be meaningfully integrated into clinical practice, technology development, education, and health policy.

In addition to leading its own research projects, the group serves as a reference point for qualitative research within Swiss Paraplegic Research, providing methodological expertise and support across projects, from study design and data collection to analysis, interpretation, and knowledge translation.