Background Person‐centred care (PCC) empowers patients to manage their chronic illness and promote their health in accordance with their own beliefs, values and preferences. Drawing on health‐care professional's (HCP’s) experiences implementing an empowerment‐focused, person‐centred intervention called the Bodyknowledging Program (BKP), we undertook a process evaluation that aimed to assess the impact on patient health and well‐being. Methods We used individual in‐depth interviews and semi‐structured focus groups comprising n = 8 interprofessional HCP who facilitated intervention sessions with n = 58 patients situated in Norwegian specialist care sites. Content analysis was used to analyse the data and summarize major themes. Results Health‐care professional interviews revealed four main ways in which the intervention operated in support of health‐related patient outcomes: (i) addressing the whole person; (ii) hope and affirmation; (iii) expanding recovery; and (iv) social support and revitalized relationships. The intervention provided new tools for patients to understand the social, emotional and physical impact of their illness. Health‐care professional reported new insights to facilitate patient engagement and to promote patients’ health. Conclusions The Bodyknowledging Program facilitated patient engagement through the promotion of patient‐centred care while developing the patients’ ability to exploit their own resources for effectively managing their health within illness. The process evaluation supported the underlying theoretical basis of the intervention and was suggestive of its potential transferability elsewhere.

Objective Patients with chronic illness who are empowered and activated are more likely to engage in self-management in order to stabilise their condition and enhance their quality of life. This study aimed to explore Health Care Professional's (HCP) assessment of a person-centered intervention called ‘The Bodyknowledging Program’ (BKP) for the facilitation of empowerment and patient activation in the context of chronic illness. Methods This study employed a qualitative process evaluation after programme completion. Data was collected through focus-groups and individual interviews with HCPs and content analysis was used in the analysis. Results Four themes were identified: 1) Shifts towards the patient-perspective, 2) The value of a patient-centered conceptual framework, 3) Patient activation through dialogue based support and 4) Challenging competencies. Discussion: This study introduces ‘The Bodyknowledging Program’ as a useful tool to uncover patients’ needs and to activate and empower them to take more responsibility for their health through self-care management. The usability of the new intervention depends on HCP's ability to develop their counselling skills and changing their approach towards utilising patients’ individual resources in the promotion of their health.