Patient empowerment and PPI are part of a
modernising initiative that invokes notions
of consumerism, openness, transparency
and democratic changes in NHS culture.
Their evidence base is evolving and tools for
measuring their effect and effectiveness are still in
development. Scientifically driven, evidence-based
practice and professional culture and language can
widen rather than narrow the nurse-patient social
and knowledge-based gaps, creating a barrier to
rebalancing inequalities in nurse-patient power.
There is scope for nurses to contribute to real,
positive individual patient empowerment and PPI
while these ideological, structural and professional
barriers are addressed. Nurses can actively set
out to equalise the nurse-patient relationship and
assist individual patient empowerment and PPI.
To achieve this, an appropriate mindset should be
adopted and appropriate strategies and modes