The partnership, based at the Yale School of Nursing , will initially focus on how these relationships affect adherence, or how well patients follow instructions about such matters as taking medication and making lifestyle changes. Without it, there is very little any provider can do to improve a patient's health for any significant period of time. Regina Cusson, a professor of nursing at UConn, will serve as the program's site director in Storrs. If we could systematically dissect these relationships, we might find the key to better care. We have much more knowledge available to us than we ever make effective use of.
Relationships are hard to quantify with traditional research methods.
However, seeking to understand the process of care, in the context of the health care relationship, may well illuminate important pathways to desired outcomes. Those who pursue this work will be the real risk-takers of this century. The program will make use of expert panels, representing different health professions and health care consumers, to shape its agenda. Cohen sees the potential for improving health care through understanding its relational aspects as expansive. Donaghue is funding the collaborative program as a prototype, with the idea that the study of relationships could eventually be expanded beyond the area of adherence.