Impact of Nurse-Patient Relationship on Quality of Care and Patient Autonomy in Decision-Making

Jesús Molina-Mula and Julia Gallo-Estrada
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Jesús Molina-Mula: Nursing and Physiotherapy Department, Universitat de les Illes Balears, 07122 Palma, Spain
Julia Gallo-Estrada: Nursing and Physiotherapy Department, Universitat de les Illes Balears, 07122 Palma, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 3, 1-24

Abstract: Background: The patient is observed to acquire a passive role and the nurse an expert role with a maternalistic attitude. This relationship among others determines the capacity for autonomy in the decision making of patients. Objectives: The aim of this study is to analyse the nurse-patient relationship and explore their implications for clinical practice, the impact on quality of care, and the decision-making capacity of patients. Design: A phenomenological qualitative study was conducted. Settings and participants: Thirteen in-depth interviews with nurses and 61,484 nursing records from internal medicine and specialties departments in a general hospital from 2015–2016. Methods: A discourse analysis and triangulation for these sources were conducted. Results: The category elaborated from nursing records was defined according to the following codes: Good Patient, Bad patient, and Social Problem. Analysis of the interviews resulted in a category defined as Patient as a passive object. Discussion: A good nurse-patient relationship reduces the days of hospital stay and improves the quality and satisfaction of both. However, in contrast, the good relationship is conditioned by the patient’s submissive role. Conclusion: An equal distribution of power allows decisions about health and disease processes to be acquired by patients, autonomously, with the advice of professionals. The nurse-patient relationship should not pursue the change in values and customs of the patient, but position the professional as a witness of the experience of the health and illness process in the patient and family.

Keywords: nurse-patient relationship; decision making; personal autonomy; quality of health care; nurse’s role (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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