Table 1 PCC framework

Population

Patient: a person with acute illnesses, disabilities, or long-term conditions.

Caregiver: a person who provides support and assistance, formal or informal, through various activities to people with acute illnesses, disabilities, or long-term conditions. We consider both health professionals (nurses, medical and allied health professionals) as a formal caregiver, and personal contacts (family, friends, neighborhood, others) as informal caregivers involved in the delivery of care and social support.

Concept

Social support: emotional, instrumental, and financial assistance obtained from an individual's social network. Social support provided by family, friends and neighbors is referred to as informal support. In contrast, social support provided by formal service agencies is known as formal support.

Care: the application of knowledge to the benefit of a community or individual to improve health and wellbeing.

Context

The presence of acute illnesses, disabilities, or long-term conditions in both institutional and personal settings.