Hindrance for patient participation in nursing care

THE STUDY'S RATIONALE: Patients' influence in health care through participation, freedom of choice and information, is laid down in laws, national and local directives. In nursing care situations, the degree to which a patient participates depends on the nursing staff. Accordingly, hindrances for patient's participation during nursing care is an important question for the nursing profession. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim was to focus on Swedish Registered Nurses opinion of hindrances for patient participation in nursing care and to uncover the informants' perspectives in depth. METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN AND JUSTIFICATION: The study was limited to inpatient somatic care and has a qualitative approach. Data were collected through seven focus group interviews with 31 Registered Nurses from five hospitals. An analysis of the tape-recorded interview material was made, combining elements of content analysis with aspects of the Grounded Theory approach. ETHICAL ISSUES AND APPROVAL: The ethics of scientific work was followed. The participants gave informed consent. Verbal and written information was given as a guarantee that all information would be treated confidentially outside the focus group. Formal approval by ethical committee was not required according to national and local directives. RESULTS: Hindrance for patient participation in nursing care comprised three themes: Competence, Influence of significant others and Organization and work environment, and their seven underlying subthemes. CONCLUSIONS: The study clarified factors, which individually or combined may be hindrance for patient participation in nursing practice. Professional nurses must be able to find a balance for their patients' participation in nursing care activities through identification and coping with the hindrances. The three themes and seven subthemes here identified, can be used in patient care and its' evaluation, like also quality assurance of care and work organization and in nursing education. For further development replication studies are needed, like additional studies of patients and significant others.     

Nurse strategies for optimising patient participation in nursing care

The study’s rationale: Patient participation is an essential factor in nursing care and medical treatment and a legal right in many countries. Despite this, patients have experienced insufficient participation, inattention and neglect regarding their problems and may respond with dependence, passivity or taciturnity. Accordingly, nurses strategies for optimising patient participation in nursing care is an important question for the nursing profession. Aim and objective: The aim was to explore Registered Nurses’ strategies to stimulate and optimise patient participation in nursing care. The objective was to identify ward nurses’ supporting practices. Methodological design and justification: A qualitative research approach was applied. Three focus groups with experienced Registered Nurses providing inpatient somatic care (n = 16) were carried out. These nurses were recruited from three hospitals in West Sweden. The data were analysed using content analysis technique. Ethical issues and approval: The ethics of scientific work was adhered to. According to national Swedish legislation, no formal permit from an ethics committee was required. The participants gave informed consent after verbal and written information. Results: Nurse strategies for optimising patient participation in nursing care were identified as three categories: ‘Building close co‐operation’, ‘Getting to know the person’ and ‘Reinforcing self‐care capacity’ and their 10 subcategories. Conclusions: The strategies point to a process of emancipation of the patient’s potential by finding his/her own inherent knowledge, values, motivation and goals and linking these to actions. Nurses need to strive for guiding the patient towards attaining meaningful experiences, discoveries, learning and development. The strategies are important and useful to balance the asymmetry in the nurse–patient relationship in daily nursing practice and also in quality assurance to evaluate and improve patient participation and in education. However, further verification of the findings is recommended by means of replication or other studies in different clinical settings.     

Consumer participation in acute care settings: an Australian experience

Consumer partnerships have been embraced as an important component of building high quality health care services. While nurses have the greatest contact with clients in hospital, little is known of their views about consumer participation or how they facilitate that participation at the bedside. Using focus group interviews and participant observation methods, this project explored nurses' approaches to working with consumers to support their participation in health care delivery. Findings indicate a sharp contrast between the ideas that nurses expressed and the actions observed in practice. It was clear from the interviews that nurses had adopted the rhetoric surrounding consumer participation, yet observational data revealed nursing practices that excluded active participation by consumers. Factors influencing nurses' facilitation of consumer participation were identified as the division of nursing labour in the setting, limited communication between nurses and patients and environmental constraints.     

Patient participation in nursing care from a patient perspective: a Grounded Theory study

The study's rationale: Patients’ active participation in their own care is expected to contribute to increased motivation to improve their own condition, better treatment results and greater satisfaction with received care. Knowledge of patients’ understanding of participation is of great importance for nurses in their efforts to meet patient expectations and for quality of nursing care. Aim: The aim was to explore the meaning of patient participation in nursing care from a patient point of view. Methodological design and justification: Six tape‐recorded focus group interviews with 26 Swedish informants described opinions on and experiences of patient participation. The informants consisted of patients in somatic inpatient care as well as discharged patients from such a setting. The Grounded Theory method was used and the data were analysed using constant comparative analysis. Ethical issues and approval: The ethics of scientific work was followed. Each study participant gave informed consent after verbal and written information. The Ethics Committee of Göteborg University approved the study. Findings: The patients emphasised the importance of collaboration to improve participation. The core category, Insight through consideration, was generated from four inter‐related categories: (i) Obliging atmosphere; (ii) Emotional response; (iii) Concordance; and (iv) Rights and their 15 subcategories. Conclusions: The meaning structures of patient participation in nursing care revealed from a patient point of view, seemed to mainly consist of not only external factors presented by the institutions – by the professionals – but also internal patient factors. The patients’ view of participation should be considered to a greater degree in nursing practice and education, as should also further development of nursing care policy programmes, evaluation and quality assurance criteria. For further development, studies are needed in similar and other settings.     

Patient participation in nursing care: towards a concept clarification from a nurse perspective

Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate the meanings of the concept of patient participation in nursing care from a nurse perspective. Background. Participation is essential and increases patients’ motivation and satisfaction with received care. Studies of patient participation in nursing care are not congruent regarding definition, elements and processes. This lack of clarity is amplified by several terms used; patient/client/consumer involvement or collaboration, partnership and influence. Despite the fact that several nursing theories have emphasized the importance of patient participation, an empirically grounded theory has yet to be published. Methods. Seven focus group interviews were held with nurses providing inpatient physical care at five hospitals in West Sweden. The focus groups consisted of Registered Swedish nurses (n = 31) who described the meaning and implementation of patient participation in nursing care. A Grounded Theory approach has been applied to tape‐recorded data. Constant comparative analysis was used and saturation was achieved. Results. Mutuality in negotiation emerged as the core category for explaining nurses’ perspectives on patient participation in nursing care. It is characterized by four interrelated sub‐core categories: interpersonal procedure, therapeutic approach, focus on resources and opportunities for influence. Mutuality in negotiation constitutes the dynamic nurse–patient interaction process. Conclusions. The study clarifies that patient participation can be explained as an interactional process identified as mutuality in negotiation based on four components. Relevance to clinical practice. The results are important and can be used in nursing practice and education. Application in a clinical context means nursing care organized to include all the components presented. The results can also be used in quality assurance to improve and evaluate patient participation.     

Patient information and participation still in need of improvement: evaluation of patients' perceptions of quality of care

Fröjd c ., Swenne c.l ., Rubertsson c ., Gunningberg l . & Wadensten b. (2011) Journal of Nursing Management 19, 226–236
Patient information and participation still in need of improvement: evaluation of patients’ perceptions of quality of care Aims To identify areas in need of quality improvement by investigating inpatients’ perceptions of quality of care, and to identify differences in perceptions of care related to patient gender, age and type of admission. Background Nursing managers play an important role in the development of high-quality care. Methods Quality of care was assessed using the Quality from the Patients’ Perspective (QPP). In all, 2734 inpatients at a Swedish university hospital completed the QPP. Results Inadequate quality was identified for 15 out of 24 items, e.g. information given on treatment and examination results, opportunities to participate in decisions related to care and information on self-care. Patients with emergency admissions reported lower scores for quality of information and doctors’ care than did patients with planned admissions. Conclusion Results from the present survey identified areas in need of quality improvement and differences in perceived care quality between patients. Quality of care must be developed in close collaboration with other healthcare professionals; in this respect, nursing managers could play an important role. Implications for nursing management Nursing managers could play a more active part in measuring quality of care, and in using results from such measurements to develop and improve quality of care.     

Patients' and nurses' perceptions of nursing problems in an acute care setting

AIM: This paper reports a study to determine the degree of agreement or disagreement between nurses and patients in their perceptions of the presence, severity, and importance of nursing problems. BACKGROUND: Patient experiences, values and preferences are increasingly acknowledged as important factors underpinning healthcare decision-making. The ability to identify patient problems accurately is an important prerequisite for planning and implementing individualized high quality care. METHODS: A convenience sample of patients (n = 80) and Registered Nurses (n = 30) in an acute care setting responded to a 43-item questionnaire. Findings. Nurses identified patients' problems with a sensitivity of 0.53 and a positive predictive value of 0.50. Patients identified several severe problems that were not identified by nurses, particularly problems with nutrition, sleep, pain, and emotions/spirituality. Nurses underestimated the severity in 47% of mutually-identified problems. An overall level of agreement of 44% was found on the importance of patient problems. Low levels of agreement on severity and importance were related more to individual differences than to systematic differences. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses need to be more aware that patients and nurses often hold disparate views of the priorities in nursing care. To plan individualized nursing care effectively, nurses need to elicit and use individual patients' preferences more systematically in care planning.     

Patient participation in hospital care: Nursing staffs' point of view

The aim was to investigate nursing staff's perceptions related to patient participation and the parameters affecting it during nursing care. A cross‐sectional study with both a quantitative and qualitative orientation was conducted. The sample consisted of all nursing staff working in medical and surgical wards in three Greek hospitals. A questionnaire was developed and the data were analysed with exploratory factor analysis, whereas content analysis was used for qualitative data. Nursing staff perceived participation as the process of information giving to patients, communication of symptoms by patients and compliance with the staff's orders. ‘Information providing’ and ‘ability to influence and responsibility’ were significant aspects of the content of participation, whereas the parameters affecting participation were related to patients, nursing staff and the care context. These results support patient engagement in dialogue and shared decision‐making, while highlighting the need to implement participation systematically and stimulate changes in nursing care organization.     

Patient participation in clinical decision-making in nursing: A comparative study of nurses' and patients' perceptions

Aims and objectives. The aim of this study was to compare the degree of concordance between patients and Registered Nurses’ perceptions of the patients’ preferences for participation in clinical decision‐making in nursing care. A further aim was to compare patients’ experienced participation with their preferred participatory role. Background. Patient participation in clinical decision‐making is valuable and has an effect on quality of care. However, there is limited knowledge about patient preferences for participation and how nurses perceive their patients’ preferences. Methods. A comparative design was adopted with a convenient sample of 80 nurse–patient dyads. A modified version of the Control Preference Scale was used in conjunction with a questionnaire developed to elicit the experienced participation of the patient. Results. A majority of the Registered Nurses perceived that their patients preferred a higher degree of participation in decision‐making than did the patients. Differences in patient preferences were found in relation to age and social status but not to gender. Patients often experienced having a different role than what was initially preferred, e.g. a more passive role concerning needs related to communication, breathing and pain and a more active role related to activity and emotions/roles. Conclusions. Registered Nurses are not always aware of their patients’ perspective and tend to overestimate patients’ willingness to assume an active role. Registered Nurses do not successfully involve patients in clinical decision‐making in nursing care according to their own perceptions and not even to the patients’ more moderate preferences of participation. Relevance to clinical practice. A thorough assessment of the individual's preferences for participation in decision‐making seems to be the most appropriate approach to ascertain patient's involvement to the preferred level of participation. The categorization of patients as preferring a passive role, collaborative role or active role is seen as valuable information for Registered Nurses to tailor nursing care.     

A systematic review of instruments measuring patients′ perceptions of patient‐centred nursing care

This systematic review identified and evaluated instruments measuring patients' perceptions of patient‐centred nursing care. Of 2629 studies reviewed, 12 were eligible for inclusion. Four instruments were reported: The Individualized Care Scale, the Client‐Centred Care Questionnaire, the Oncology patients' Perceptions of the Quality of Nursing Care Scale and the Smoliner scale. These instruments cover themes addressing patient participation and the clinician–patient relationship. Instruments were shown to have satisfactory psychometric properties, although not all were adequately assessed. More research is needed regarding test–retest reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, validity with known groups and structural validity using confirmatory factor analysis.     

Patients' perceptions of their participation in discharge planning after acute stroke

Aims and objectives. To describe stroke patients’ perceptions of their participation in the discharge planning process and identify correlates of perceived participation. Background. Patients have the right to participate in discharge planning, but earlier research has shown that they are often dissatisfied with the information they receive and their involvement in goal‐setting during discharge planning. Design. Cross‐sectional study. Methods. The sample consisted of 188 persons (mean age 74 years, SD 11·2) with acute stroke who were admitted to a stroke unit at a hospital in southern Sweden during 2003–2005. Data was collected by face‐to‐face interviews 2–3 weeks after discharge using the ‘Patients’ Questionnaire on Participation in Discharge Planning’. This instrument measures perceived participation in discharge planning in three subscales: P‐Information, P‐Medical Treatment, P‐Goals and Needs. Results. The percentage of patients who perceived that they had participated in discharge planning was as follows: 72–90% according to P‐Information, 29–38% according to P‐Medical Treatment and 15–47% according to P‐Goals and Needs. Age, education and performance of activities of daily living were significantly related to perceived participation as measured by different subscales. Conclusions. Most of the patients perceived that they received information, but fewer perceived participation in the planning of medical treatment and needs of care/service/rehabilitation and goal‐setting. Professionals need to pay more attention to patients in different subgroups to facilitate their participation in discharge planning. Relevance to clinical practice. To facilitate and increase patients’ participation in discharge planning, methods should be implemented for goal‐setting and identifying patients’ needs. Methods that foster patient participation may improve goal‐orientated care, services and rehabilitation after discharge.