Patient centered nursing care of caesarean section patients in a private sector maternity ward
Date
2019
Authors
Fortuin-Leyds, Romy
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Abstract
Patient centred nursing care is nursing care that is centred on the patient and their specific needs in order to achieve good quality nursing care. Patient centred care is essential in achieving good patient outcomes and includes the incorporation of communication and shared decision making which emphasises the importance of respectful and responsive nursing care. The purpose of the study was to determine if the care which is documented reflects the care which the patient is experiencing. The study was conducted in the maternity ward of a large private hospital and the focus was on the post-partum care given to patients who have had caesarean sections. The research design and method were an exploratory multi-method design which incorporated collecting and analysing data from two sources, namely the patients and the nursing documentation. The patients were interviewed using semi-structured interviews which were transcribed verbatim and the nursing documentation was recorded verbatim directly from the nursing notes. A template analysis was conducted using the patient centered principles set out by the Picker Institute (1987).
The findings of the data analysed revealed that the nursing documentation does not reflect what the patients have experienced. The nursing documentation is primarily task-focused and directed at what the nurses are doing for the patient instead of incorporating what the patients are experiencing. The patients are experiencing many aspects of patient-centred nursing but there is a poor reflection of this in the nursing documentation. In conclusion, it can be said that in order for good quality nursing care to be achieved the nursing care should reflect what the patient is experiencing. This can be achieved through documenting nursing care given by applying patient centred care strategies.
Description
MSc Nursing (Research report) Johannesburg, November 2019