On 7 September 2023, Aproximar organised an online event (Webinar), which brought together 49 participants from various care and health institutions. This event took place online (via Zoom) since the professionals who pre-registered for the event were from different parts of Portugal.
This Webinar, “Managing change in person-centred care”, lasted approximately 1 hour. The session began with a brief presentation of the Compass initiative and its expected results over the course of the activities to be developed. This was followed by a round table discussion on topics such as leadership, the role of the leader and change management.
The event featured two speakers who are recognised for their management in care institutions and health institutions in Portugal, so that the theme in which the Compass initiative operates, “change management in the adoption of person-centred care”, could be addressed. The relationship between leadership and person-centred care was analysed, highlighting the importance of human resource management, leadership skills and the role of the leader in the process of change, “the leader has to be an active member of this change”, empowering care and health teams, training and development and adapting to changing needs.
It is important to emphasise that the fact that the speakers are managers in different areas, care and health, enriched the debate and the knowledge shared with the participants, because although the professional contexts are different, the truth is that the role of the leader is the same in both places, especially when it comes to managing change.
At the end of the webinar, the training course “Person-Centred Care: Leading Change” was announced, and participants were invited to take part in this pilot course, and the registration links were shared.
The results of the evaluation of 8 questionnaires collected indicated high satisfaction among the participants. The majority, made up of professionals in the field of care provision, expressed that this type of event and information sharing is highly useful for a field that is changing daily due to the increasing rate of ageing and the new challenges that arise in responding to this age group.
By organising this event online, we have been able to reach out to a wide range of care and health institutions, which will pave the way for significant collaborations and innovations in person-centred healthcare, contributing to positive results at national and European level.
