Amy Byrne

This research considers the power/knowledge balance of people with chronic disease enrolled in the Nurse Navigator service. Person-centred care has become a staple of health discourse yet there appears to be a disconnect between this and the auxiliary language used in the service. Anecdotally, it appears that the service attempts to mould the person to the service, a notion conflicted with the philosophy of person-centred care. This research investigates language and power through a Foucauldian informed, Critical Discourse Analysis framework across three district social orders; National policy and frameworks (Macro), health services (Meso) and the people involved (Micro).

In response to increasing healthcare costs, new nurse led models of care have emerged in the chronic disease space; one such service is the Nurse Navigator service. Person-centred care appears to be accepted as a natural 'truth' within the health sector, yet it appears to be at odds with the language, purpose, models and measurement of the Nurse Navigator service. At face value, there appears to be a dissociation between health service agenda and the rhetoric of PCC in its current use within health services. This in turn may lead to disconnect between services and vulnerable clients, a topic that is more than worthy of being explored and further understood.