Enhancing healthcare with patient personas: A systematic review

Personas have gained significant recognition in healthcare for their impact on improving patient needs and resources. Patient personas are detailed profiles of patients with similar common needs, preferences, goals, and behaviors. This review examined patient personas, explored current methodologies in persona creation, and identified gaps in existing methods. Then, we proposed future directions incorporating advanced techniques such as predictive analytics to enhance persona creation. We applied PRISMA guidelines, searched databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect for related articles, and found 1893 articles. After screening the articles using the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 24 articles published between 2013 onwards were selected for this review. Several studies have used either qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods to create personas. Researchers have implied that the reliance on qualitative data can introduce bias that affects persona accuracy. This review highlights the crucial role of patient personas in improving healthcare delivery, and personas have been proven effective in reforming healthcare services to meet patient needs. Although patient personas have been utilized for over a decade, post-implementation evaluations are seldom addressed. Evidence suggests that there is a need for continuous improvement to improve patient outcomes and healthcare services.