Corporate social responsibility and person-centered care : a scoping review

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this paper was to explore the linkage between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and person-centered care (PCC). The scope of the review was, therefore, to identify whether – as a result of such linkage – CSR may be a potential vehicle for delivering PCC within health-care organizations. Design/methodology/approach – Data were retrieved by searching multiple keywords on PubMed, Medline and Scopus databases with inclusion/exclusion criteria based on years of publication from 2001 to 2018, language, no geographic restrictions, paper focus, research and document types. A total of 56 articles (N=56) were selected and reviewed. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify and compare the main features of PCC and CSR. Findings – The findings revealed that while CSR and PCC are interrelated, CSR features are not being exploited in their entirety in formalizing PCC as part of the CSR strategy. In particular, the two salient CSR features explicitly referred to in conjunction with explicit PCC characteristics are quality of care and health communication. Furthermore, patients’ rights and dignity were the leading implicit CSR features mentioned in conjunction with both explicit and implicit PCC characteristics. Research limitations/implications – Subjectivity of researchers, limited number of databases and publication types included are the main limitations of this research. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper analyzing CSR and PCC in an interrelated way.