Patient involvement in Europe – a comparative framework

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide and explain the model that underlies most of the research reported within this special issue on “Patient involvement in health care across Europe”. Design/methodology/approach – This introduction provides a literature review and a conceptual framework for the understanding of patient involvement and its potential development within health care across Europe. Findings – Patient involvement can be characterised in terms of three ideal types: voice, choice and co-production. Policies for developing user involvement in healthcare can have disempowering as well as empowering consequences. The pattern of dissemination of user involvement across Europe varies in form and content largely due to path dependency. Research limitations/implications – The paper provides a template for future comparative research on user involvement in health care and one that could be extended to social care as well as other varieties of human services. This introduction and the special issue highlights the need for further comparative research in this area. Originality/value – The paper presents a robust model for comparative research. The findings may well be useful not only to researchers but also to policy makers and analysts.