Primary care providers’ perceptions and experiences of family-centered care for older adults: a qualitative study of community-based diabetes management in China

BACKGROUND: Family-centered care, as a contemporary model of health service delivery, involves a mutually beneficial partnership between healthcare providers, patients and their families. Although evidence on the positive effects of family-centered care on older adults and their families is accumulating, less is known about the providers’ beliefs, attitudes and practices related to family-centeredness, especially regarding community-based primary healthcare services for the rapidly-ageing Chinese population. METHODS: This study investigated Chinese primary care providers’ perceptions and experiences of family-centered care for older adults, using community-based diabetes management services as an example. Ten focus-group interviews involving 48 community health professionals were conducted. Major themes were identified using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The interviews revealed that the providers acknowledged the importance of the family in older patients’ diabetes management, while their current scope of practice with the patients’ families was limited and informal. The barriers to implementing family-centered care were attributed to structural and environmental obstacles associated with the patients’ families and the community healthcare context and culture. To engage patients’ families more effectively, the providers suggested that family-centered values endorsed by their healthcare organizations and reinforced by policies, a trained interdisciplinary team of health professionals and community social workers, and also that the utilization of technology would be beneficial. CONCLUSIONS: Our study extends the evidence of family-centered care for older adults in Chinese community-based healthcare settings, contributing to the design of a tailored healthcare delivery model embodying ageing in place. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-021-02380-x.