The One Friend They Miss the Most: The Impact of Pet Interactions on Pediatric Experience
Published June 5, 2025
When his son, Brayden, passed away due to complications from a congenital heart defect, John Otten harnessed the power of his grief into action and founded Brave Like Me. Listen in as he and Amy Cielak, board member, discuss the profound impact an interaction with a pet can have on a patient, and how they hope to bring that experience to more and more children across the country.
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Patient Family & Community Engagement
Communication Solution: Stop (just) Training Doctors, Start Training Patients
Published November 13, 2025

Gabby Ceccolini, MS Healthcare Communication Specialist The Problem with Patient-Centered Care For decades, our healthcare system has poured time, money, and innovation into training doctors to communicate better; however, what if we are overlooking the other half of the equation? The term “patient-centered” began appearing in medical literature in the late 1980s. It wasn’t until
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Patient Family & Community Engagement
Communicating Effectively when Engaging People with Lived Experience in Mental Health and Substance use Health Research: A Qualitative Descriptive Study
Published November 12, 2025
Background. People with lived experience of mental health and/or substance use challenges and families (PWLE/F) are increasingly engaged in research, providing positive impacts. However, effective engagement can be challenging, including ensuring effective communication. This qualitative study sought to understand the communication preferences of PWLE/F who are engaged in mental health and substance use health research.
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Patient Family & Community Engagement
Patient Perspectives on Implementing a Person-centered Care System: Experiences from the U.S. Veterans Health Administration’s Whole Health System of Care
Published May 5, 2025
Objectives. Replacing the disease-centered, paternalistic approach in healthcare with a person-centered model has become a widely recognized imperative. However, patients’ perspectives on and experiences with real-life efforts to implement this approach to care are rarely studied. We examined this issue at a health system with a prominent record of commitment to implementing person-centered care on
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