PERSON CENTERED MEDICINE, WELL-BEING AND QUALITY OF LIFE
Authors: Mezzich Juan 
Published: July 2021

Background: Person Centered Medicine places the person at the center of the

concept of health and as the proper target of health actions. This makes positive

health, including wellbeing and quality of life, a matter of high interest among the

concepts, procedures and activities of person centered medicine and health.

Objectives: This paper is aimed at exploring, documenting and discussing the

concepts and procedures for positive health, particularly well-being and quality of

life, within the framework of person centered medicine and health.

Method: For addressing these objectives, first, a selective review of the literature

was conducted concerning the place of positive health within the recognized

concepts and practical procedures of the programmatic movement on Person

Centered Medicine. Then, a more systematic review of the medical and health

literature was conducted on concepts and procedures for addressing and assessing

well-being and quality of life within the framework of person centered medicine.

Results: Findings concerning positive health developments (particularly involving

well-being and quality of life) produced under the aegis of the International

College of Person Centered Medicine included, first, its place in the systematic

conceptualization of person centered medicine, where it is part and parcel of the

principles on ethics commitment and holistic framework, as well as the principlesbased

Person-centered Care Index (PCI). Second, positive health is a distinctive

and prominent element of the informational domains of the Person-centered

Integrative Diagnosis (PID) model, as well as in practical applications such as the

Latin American Guide for Psychiatric Diagnosis developed and published by the

Psychiatric Association of Latin America (APAL). A second set of findings

emerged from a systematic review of the literature on “Person centered medicine,

well-being and quality of life”. It yielded 27 papers, dealing with theoretical

concepts and instrumentation, which were tabularly analyzed. The concepts of

well-being (WB) and quality of life (QoL) tended to be used interchangeably as

well as complementarily, with QoL tending to be seen as more encompassing and

often incorporating WB. Some major well-being studies have used a group of

instruments to cover key aspects of WB. Several encompassing instruments for

the assessment of QoL and WB were identified, having a range of features and

applications. Among the most frequently used seem to be the WHO-instrument

for Quality of Life and the Multicultural Quality of Life Index.

Discussion: The importance ascribed to positive health is growing internationally,

with particular focus on WB and QoL. This is illustrated by the United Nations’

Sustainable Development Goals, which formulates its Goal on Health in terms of

promoting healthy lives and well-being for all.

Conclusions: The importance of QoL and WB in the health field in general and

in particular for person-centered medicine has been well documented. Some

useful and encompassing instruments for assessing these concepts have been

elucidated, which have general applicability and are substantially validated

internationally.