Since being formalized in the 1980s, the model of patient-partnered care has become somewhat of a gold-standard in healthcare. Many health organizations have been working to implement this model, including the health services branch of Canada’s military. The military’s implementation of this model has been challenged by several factors, including ongoing sexual misconduct allegations, systemic racism, and the COVID-19 pandemic, among others.

The goal of this research project was to explore how a patient-partnered care model can be transformed into a person-partnered care (PPC) model that is meaningfully inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible (IDEA). This project further aimed to figure out how such a model can be implemented within the health services branch of the Canadian military.

To this end, the authors used primary and secondary research methods to assess the current state and model of Canada’s military healthcare. Three Horizons, a participatory foresight technique, was then used to design an IDEA PPC care model, and to identify possible opportunities and challenges with the model’s implementation in the military’s health services branch.

The findings provide an initial model of IDEA PPC for the military’s health services branch. Further research – particularly in terms of engagement or participatory knowledge-building – is required to enhance the initial model concept so it can work in all the varying contexts of military healthcare. Resources will also need to be dedicated to both design the model and to its implementation.