An Integrated Analysis of the Perceptions of Health Care Users, Professionals, and Managers in Catalonia

Abstract

The increased demand for health services and the inclusion of new aspects in what is culturally considered "health and health care" represent a significant challenge for the current health care system and health care practice model in Catalonia. Determining health care needs and providing the right responses to them should not only be the job of experts. Rather, it should involve the participation of all the agents who live with and in the health care system every day. The aim of this article is to point out the importance of the perceptions of the agents involved in health care for planning and decision-making in health policies. A summary of the integrated perspectives of the public, professionals, and managers from the Catalan health care system is presented. Such perspectives can reveal the agreements and disagreements concerning the dimensions of health care participants define as important: health resources, health care processes, and the relationship between professionals and users. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0902340

Keywords

• health agents
• health resources
• health processes
• professional-user relationship
• qualitative methodology