Nurses' perceptions of care and caring

Care and caring have been identified as inherently difficult concepts to define, but many authors believe that care is the central and unifying core of nursing. It is vital that nurses understand what care is, with the current issues about measuring and justifying exactly what they do for patients in order to be clear about what good care is. If nurses are to constantly improve the care they give, they need to be clearer about how to care for patients. Nurses need to make sure that they are giving the patients what they want and not what the nurses want. This review of the literature explores nurses' perceptions of care and compares it with what patients want in terms of care. It also highlights some important and interesting differences between what patients and nurses perceive as good care.     

Oncology patients' and oncology nurses' perceptions of nurse caring behaviours

Previous research on patients' and nurses' perceptions of nurse caring behaviours has documented significant differences in the ranking of important behaviours. However, these samples have included a variety of medical-surgical patients and nurses and different types of institutional settings, all of which may have affected the results. The present study sought to determine if patients and nurses from one subspecialty area and one institution would have more concordant perceptions of caring. Forty-four oncology patients and 49 oncology nurses completed the Respondents Perceptions of Caring Behaviour Scale (RPCBS). Results showed that overall mean patient rankings were highly correlated with mean nurse rankings (Spearman's correlations coefficient 0.94, P<0.0001). The Wilcoxon two-sample rank sum test was used to test the difference in rank of the 20 items between the patients and nurses. There was a significant difference in rank in only six of the 20 items. These data suggest that oncology patients and nurses have more concordant perceptions of caring than previously investigated groups. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.     

Nurses' perceptions of caring as documented in theory and research

Caring represents an essential human need and the fundamental component of the nursing profession. A deep understanding of caring and the way it is expressed will help nurses to provide high-quality services and, more importantly, to understand nursing itself. This review of the literature indicates the importance of examining caring both conceptually and operationally. Based on theoretical and research accounts, it also presents the wide variety of ways in which caring is conceived and expressed within the professional field. Caring is examined from anthropological, philosophical and psychosocial perspectives. In this paper implications for practice and research are outlined.     

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.     

The caring concept,its behaviours and obstacles: perceptions from a qualitative study of undergraduate nursing students

Developing caring competences is considered to be one of the most important aims of undergraduate nursing education and the role of clinical placement is recognised as special in this regard. Students' reflection on caring, their experience and obstacles in being caring is recommended as a key strategy in the process of teaching and studying the nursing discipline. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the concept of caring, its manifestations and possible obstacles while caring, as perceived by first‐year nursing students before and after their first clinical placement. Qualitative content analysis of 15 Polish students' narratives written before and after their clinical experience in the form of text‐diaries was undertaken. The findings revealed that students entered their nursing education with a deep humanistic vision of caring both on theoretical and practical levels and the first clinical placement has enriched this vision. Expressive caring was more appreciated by students than the instrumental one and their concept of caring was coherent with the caring behaviours as described in their narratives. Several internal and external obstacles for caring have been reported by students, indicating a specific tension between their ideal of caring and their practical experience of caring in the clinical reality.     

Simulation-based learning in nurse education: systematic review

Title.  Simulation-based learning in nurse education: systematic review.
Aim.  This paper is a report of a review of the quantitative evidence for medium to high fidelity simulation using manikins in nursing, in comparison to other educational strategies.
Background.  Human simulation is an educational process that can replicate clinical practices in a safe environment. Although endorsed in nursing curricula, its effectiveness is largely unknown.
Review methods.  A systematic review of quantitative studies published between 1999 and January 2009 was undertaken using the following databases: CINAHL Plus, ERIC, Embase, Medline, SCOPUS, ProQuest and ProQuest Dissertation and Theses Database. The primary search terms were 'simulation' and 'human simulation'. Reference lists from relevant papers and the websites of relevant nursing organizations were also searched. The quality of the included studies was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme criteria.
Results.  Twelve studies were included in the review. These used experimental or quasi-experimental designs. All reported simulation as a valid teaching/learning strategy. Six of the studies showed additional gains in knowledge, critical thinking ability, satisfaction or confidence compared with a control group (range 7–11%). The validity and reliability of the studies varied due to differences in design and assessment methods.
Conclusion.  Medium and/or high fidelity simulation using manikins is an effective teaching and learning method when best practice guidelines are adhered to. Simulation may have some advantage over other teaching methods, depending on the context, topic and method. Further exploration is needed to determine the effect of team size on learning and to develop a universal method of outcome measurement.     

Assessing the relationships between nurse working conditions and patient outcomes: systematic literature review

bae s.-h . (2011) Journal of Nursing Management 19, 700–713
Assessing the relationships between nurse working conditions and patient outcomes: systematic literature review Aim The purpose of the study was to systematically evaluate nurse working conditions and to review the literature dealing with their association with patient outcomes. Background Improving nurse working conditions is essential to address nursing shortages. Although general reviews of the literature support the positive link between working conditions and patient outcomes, definitive evidence has been lacking. Evaluation A search of six electronic bibliographic databases was conducted for the primary research published in English, from January 2000 to October 2009. Key issues The concepts of working conditions were categorized into 10 groups of working conditions. A total of 69 relationships between working conditions and patient outcomes were examined. Conclusions Increased attention has been drawn to nurse working conditions resulting from nursing shortages. The findings of this review suggested that the evidence supporting positive relationships between working conditions and patient outcomes is inconclusive. Further studies of a longitudinal and interventional nature in various settings are needed to advance knowledge of the complex contextual and multivariate influences among nurse working conditions and patient outcomes. Implications for nursing management Efforts to improve working conditions should be made in various health-care work settings to ensure patient safety and improve patient quality of outcomes.     

Nurses' competence in genetics: a mixed method systematic review

skirton h., o'connor a. & humphreys a. (2012)?Nurses' competence in genetics: a mixed method systematic review. Journal of Advanced Nursing68(11), 2387-2398. ABSTRACT: Aim. To ascertain the extent to which nurses are achieving the core competences in genetics appropriate for nursing practice. Background. There is an increasing focus on genetics in nursing, and relevant core competences have been developed. However, it is unclear whether nurses are achieving these competences. Data sources. Four databases (CINAHL, Medline, The Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, and British Nursing Index) were searched. Hand searching of relevant reference lists and author names was also conducted. Design. Systematic review. Review methods. The systematic review was undertaken using methods described by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (University of York, 2008). Research studies published in English between January 2000-January 2011 reporting data focussing on nurse competence in genetics were eligible for inclusion. Data were abstracted for inclusion in a table and subjected to thematic analysis: due to diversity of studies, a meta-analysis was not performed. Results. Of 269 papers retrieved, 13 were eligible for inclusion. There were five main themes: knowledge, experience in using skills, ethical practice, perceived relevance, and confidence. Although the majority of participants believed genetics was relevant to their role, their knowledge of genetic concepts was generally poor; however, most studies measured self-reported knowledge rather than assessing actual knowledge. Conclusions. There is little evidence on this topic, but it does appear from the available evidence that nurses are not demonstrating the competences needed to offer holistic health care to people with genetic conditions. Pre- and postregistration programmes must be enhanced to include genetic health care.     

Motivation for health behaviours: a systematic review of the nursing literature

AIMS AND RATIONALE: This research review examines nursing and allied health studies exploring motivation for health behaviours to identify the state of understanding of this construct within nursing. This review contributes to nursing science by synthesizing nursing research regarding motivation for health behaviour. METHODS: Integrative research review methodology. FINDINGS: Problems of existing research include nonprobability sampling of heterogeneous populations, low statistical power, and colinearity. Studies identifying predictors of motivation explained large proportions of variance using regression. Motivation was not a significant predictor of health behaviours for over one-third of the studies. Overall, the studies suggest that either motivation is not being effectively measured because of a lack of conceptual clarity or that motivation is not an essential determinant of health behaviours. The latter cannot be verified until psychometric research advances current measurement of motivation to a higher level. LIMITATIONS; The literature for this review was accessed through the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) database. Databases for other disciplines were not included in this search. This work represents a first step towards understanding motivation for health behaviour as it is currently defined in the literature. Future studies are necessary to broaden this understanding beyond nursing. CONCLUSIONS: Motivation is a frequently cited rationale underlying the adoption and maintenance of health behaviours in research and practice. Motivation is complex and multidimensional, and clearer definitions for motivation are needed. Populations that have been underrepresented in motivation research need to be targeted in future research. Researchers and practitioners are challenged to examine carefully the role of motivation for health behaviours and explore other factors that may more strongly influence health behaviours.     

Nurses' patient-education work: conditional factors - an integrative review

friberg f., bergh a.-l. & granum v. (2012) Journal of Nursing Management 20, 170–186
Nurses’ patient-education work: conditional factors – an integrative review Aim The aim of this review was to identify conditional factors for nurses’ patient-education work and to identify foundational aspects of significance when designing studies on this patient-education work. Background A few reviews of nurses patient education work exist, published up to 30 years ago, spawning interest in performing a review of more recent studies. Evaluation A search of CINAHL, MEDLINE and ERIC was made for articles dating from 1998 to 2011. Thirty-two articles were selected and an integrative review was performed. Key issues Conditional factors were identified and beliefs and knowledge, environment, organization, interdisciplinary cooperation, collegial teamwork and patient education activities. A model was developed to describe foundational aspects of significance when designing studies. Conclusions The conditional factors are to be seen as either enabling or hindering the accomplishment of evidence-based patient education and the level of person centredness, patient safe care and ethics – something that has to be considered when designing studies. Implications for nursing management More detailed studies are required to clarify the nature of patient education work and to create realistic conditions that enable the role to be fulfilled in everyday work. Such knowledge is of significance for nursing management in developing supportive activities for nurses.     

Cancer patient and staff ratings of the importance of caring behaviours and their relations to patient anxiety and depression

Patient and staff ratings of the importance of caring behaviours (Caring Assessment Instrument, CARE-Q) were studied and related to ratings of patient levels of anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) in 53 cancer patient–staff dyads. Both groups perceived anticipatory and comforting behaviours to be among the three most important. Patients considered staff explanation and facilitation as well as anticipation to be more important than did staff. Staff rated accessibility and comforting as more important than did patients. Patient and staff ratings of the importance of staff accessibility were negatively correlated. Thus, patient and staff did not agree strongly on the importance of several types of caring behaviours. Neither patient nor staff ratings of the importance of caring behaviours were associated with their ratings of the levels of anxiety or depression of specific patients. The results suggest that patient–staff communication requires specific knowledge and skills to make staff accurately judge what is important in making patients feel cared for.     

Nursing students' perceptions of the importance of caring behaviors

Title. Nursing students’ perceptions of the importance of caring behaviours Aim. This paper is a report of a study to determine the nursing students’ perceptions of the importance of caring behaviours. Background. Caring has been considered as the essence of nursing. It is believed that caring enhances patients’ health and well‐being and facilitates health promotion. Nursing education has an important role in educating the nurses with adequate caring abilities. Method. Ninety nursing students (response rate 75%) responded to a questionnaire consisting of 55 caring behaviours adapted from items on Caring Assessment Questionnaire (Care‐Q). Behaviours were ranked on a 5‐point Likert‐type scale. The caring behaviours were categorized in seven subscales: ‘accessibles’, ‘monitors and follows through’, ‘explains and facilitates’, ‘comforts’, ‘anticipates’, ‘trusting relationship’ and ‘spiritual care’. Data were collected in Iran in 2003. Findings. The students perceived ‘monitors and follows through’ (mean = 4·33, SD = 0·60) as the most and ‘trusting relationship’ (mean = 3·70, SD = 0·62) as the least important subscales. ‘To give patient’s treatments and medications on time’ and ‘to do voluntarily little things…’ were the most and least important caring behaviours, respectively. ‘Explains and facilitates’ statistically and significantly correlated with age (r = 0·31, P = 0·003) and programme year (r = 0·28, P = 0·025). Gender had no statistically significant influence on students’ perceptions of caring behaviours. Conclusion. Further research is needed, using longitudinal designs, to explore nursing students’ perceptions of caring behaviours in different cultures, as well as evaluation studies of innovations in curriculum and teaching methods to improve learning in relation to cultural competence and caring concepts.