Identifying communication barriers between nurses and patients from the perspective of Iranian nurses: a Q-methodology-based study.

BACKGROUND: Effective communication is essential for high-quality healthcare, yet barriers often impede meaningful connection between nurses and patients. This study aimed to prioritize communication barriers between nurses and patients in Iranian hospitals, exploring nurses' perspectives. METHODS: Thirty-one nurses participated in a six-step Q methodology study to identify different perspectives on communication barriers. Participants sorted a set of statements based on their own experiences and beliefs. RESULTS: The average age of participants was 38.07 (SD = 6.49), with 70% being women. Four distinct factors emerged, explaining 47% of the total variance in perspectives: Organizational factors and work conditions (20%), Emotional distress and psychological barriers (11%), Lack of mutual understanding and awareness (7%), and declining professional motivation and engagement among nurses (9%). CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the multi-faceted nature of communication barriers between nurses and patients in this context. Interventions should address organizational factors, emotional well-being of nurses, cultural awareness, and professional motivation to improve communication and ultimately, patient care. This study provides valuable insights for Iran and other developing countries that are facing similar challenges.

Exploration of service recipients' image of a perfect nurse: A qualitative descriptive study.

AIM: The aim of this study was to explore the image of the perfect nurse from service recipients' perspective. BACKGROUND: The public image of nursing is one of the long-term challenges of this profession. Specific cultures affect the views and satisfaction of nursing service recipients. METHODS: This study was a qualitative descriptive study conducted in 2018. Purposive sampling was used and continued until saturation. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with service recipients who had experience in using nursing services in the past six months. Participants were 5 men and 7 women. Interviews transcript verbatim and analyzed by qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from the perspective and experience of the participants concerning perfect nurse including the followings: affable (compassionate, sympathetic and good-tempered), responsive (answering questions, answering requests), tower of strength (listener, being patient, understanding and attention) and efficient (providing careful care, providing timely care, providing proper care). CONCLUSION: From the participants' perspective, a perfect nurse should be responsive to the patient and be well-mannered and patient with them in addition to providing expert care. Therefore, nurses should not only improve their skills in providing care but also focus on the communication dimension and respond to the patients. Identifying communication barriers with the clients in the context of the study is also suggested.

Exploring the Experience of Nurses in Providing Care to Patients With COVID-19: A Qualitative Study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused conflicts in the world health system. The role of nurses is prominent because of their close contact with patients. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of nurses in providing care to patients with COVID-19. METHODS: This phenomenological study was conducted in 2020. Purposive sampling was used and continued until data saturation. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 nurses at Tohid Hospital, Sanandaj, Iran, all of whom had experience providing care to patients with COVID-19. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Colaizzi's phenomenological method. RESULTS: The participants included four men and 10 women. Data analysis revealed four main themes (14 subthemes) related to the experience of the participants in providing care to patients with COVID-19. These themes included (a) fear (fear of being infected, fear of being a carrier, fear of the disease, and high mortality of patients), (b) compulsion (compulsion to care, being under pressure), (c) distinct experience (need for self-care, working with personal protective equipment, and ambiguity in care/treatment), and (d) sacrifice (altruism, compassion, self-sacrifice, and being proud of yourself). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The experience of participants in caring for patients with COVID-19, in addition to the unique experience of care, was associated with fear, compulsion, and sacrifice. Because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the unique experience of nurses serving in COVID-19 units, it is necessary to educate and support nurses to deal effectively with this situation.

Development and preliminary psychometric evaluation of a nursing error tool in critical care units.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to address the importance of identifying nursing errors in critical care units and the lack of appropriate tools for measuring them. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically evaluate a nursing error tool in critical care units. DESIGN: This was a psychometric validity study. SETTING: The study involved eight critical care units affiliated with Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences. METHODS: The research was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, data were gathered via interviews with nurses, and analyzed with conventional content analysis. The primary codes and subcategories were identified as tool items. In the second phase, the psychometric properties of the instrument, including face validity, content validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and reliability were investigated. RESULTS: In the first phase, 142 items were extracted; this number was reduced to 40 items after assessing qualitative content validity. Exploratory factor analysis identified five factors: medication error, task description error, executive error, procedural error, and safety error, which made up 88% of the total variance. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.97. CONCLUSIONS: The development of a validated nursing error tool is helpful in identifying the extent and typologies of nursing errors, and could aid in designing better prevention strategies in critical care units.