RELATIONSHIP OF PATIENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF HOLISTIC NURSE CARING TO ANXIETY AND SATISFACTION WITH NURSING CARE.
Contributors: Louisiana State University Medical Ctr. In New Orleans, S. Of Nursing.
Published: 1993
Number of pages: 131
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Studies have identified patients' and nurses' perceptions of nurse caring behaviors. For the most part caring has been examined as an outcome rather than as a process. Further examination of the relationship of nurse caring behaviors to patient outcomes is needed. The aims of this study were to determine if there was a relationship between patients' perceptions of nurse caring and (a) their satisfaction with nursing care and (b) their levels of anxiety. The relationship between patients' perceptions of nurse caring, satisfaction with nursing care and anxiety and the subject variables of age, gender, length of hospital stay and level of pain, were also examined.

The sample consisted of 94 hospitalized medical patients. The patients completed four instruments. The Holistic Caring Inventory (HCI) proposed questions about the patients' perceptions of physical, interpretive, sensitive and spiritual nurse caring behaviors; the Pain Thermometer allowed patients to identify their pain level; the Patient Satisfaction Inventory consisted of questions about patients' perceptions of satisfaction with nursing care; and the Spielberger State/Trait Anxiety Inventory proposed questions about patients' levels of anxiety.

The results revealed a significant positive relationship between patients' perceptions of nurse caring and their satisfaction with nursing care. Each dimension of holistic caring was significantly related to patient satisfaction. The relationship between the perception of holistic caring and satisfaction was not confounded by the subject variables.

Significant negative relationships were found between the HCI global, physical and sensitive caring scores and state anxiety. After controlling for subject variables only global HCI and physical care scores were significant predictors of state anxiety.

There were no significant correlations between the subject variables and satisfaction with nursing care. There were significant positive correlations between age and perceptions of global HCI, interpretive, and spiritual caring. Increases in pain were significantly related to: decreases in HCI global scores, increases in state and trait anxiety, and increases in perceptions of acuity.

This study suggests that holistic nurse caring is significantly related to patients' satisfaction with nursing and their level of anxiety. Therefore, further exploration of methods to include caring behaviors in nursing care and in nursing education is warranted.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-11, Section: B, page: 5606.

Thesis (D.N.S.)--LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CTR. IN NEW ORLEANS, S. OF NURSING, 1993.

School code: 1053.