Background: Patient- and family-centered care (PFCC) is recognized as a critical component of cardiovascular care, but its integration into cardiology society guidelines has not been described. The objective of this study is to review PFCC language use and recommendations within major cardiology society guidelines.
METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a systematic review of guidelines and statements from the American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA), Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS), and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) from 2013 to 2023. PFCC-related key terms were identified using an AI-based natural language processing algorithm, and recommendations were categorized into eight dimensions of PFCC. The inclusion of PFCC recommendations across societies and trends over time were examined.
There were 260 guidelines and statements analyzed. The most frequent PFCC dimensions overall were Health Transitions (23.5/100 pages), Shared Decision-Making (11.1/100 pages), and Care Access (9.9/100 pages). The least commonly identified dimensions across all journals were Care Coordination (6.5/100 pages), Emotional Support (4.0/100 pages), and Familial Support (1.0/100 pages). CCS, ACC, and AHA had more recommendations using PFCC key terms than ESC per 100 pages (17.3, 12.0, 10.3 vs. 4.6, respectively, p< 0.01). PFCC language usage increased markedly over the ten-year period for ACC, AHA, and ESC, but decreased for CCS (all p< 0.05).
Conclusion: PFCC language and recommendations are increasingly being included in cardiology society guidelines. Societal differences in PFCC language use exist. Future research is needed to evaluate the impact of these guideline recommendations on clinical practice.
