Nurses’ and Patients’ Perceptions on Nurses Caring Behaviors in Long-Term Care Facilities in Qatar

Abstract

Caring has been acknowledged as the essence of nursing (Nelson & Watson, 2011); however, it is being feared to lose its worth from the effects of advancing technology and increasing attention to more concrete healthcare issues such as workload and patient acuity (Adams, 2016). Long-term care facilities (LTCFs), which are being expanded in Qatar, are common places for highly dependent people in need of care for over an extended period of time. As care demands in LTCFs are foreseen to constantly escalate over the years, it is only timely that caring behaviors, which directly impact the patients’ conditions, are carefully understood among nurses working in a setting wherein patients may be passively involved in their care and caring for long-staying patients in a consistent and holistic manner may be challenged. This study was conducted to determine the nurse caring behavior perceptions of nurses and patients in long-term care facilities in Qatar, specifically (1) to determine the nurses’ and patients’ perceptions on nurse caring behaviors, (2) to determine if there is a significant difference between nurses’ and patients’ perceptions on nurse caring behaviors, (3) to determine if there is a significant relationship between nurses’ perceptions on caring behaviors and socio-demographic variables of age, gender, nationality, education, primary license origin, years of work as a nurse, and years of experience in long term care, and (4) to determine if there is a significant relationship between patients’ perceptions on nurse caring behaviors and socio-demographic variables of age, gender, marital status, nationality, primary diagnosis, education, and length of stay in the long-term care facility. This study employed a cross-sectional descriptive design in two of the long-term care facility sites operated by Rumailah Hospital in Doha, Qatar over a span of eight months. There were 80 nurses and 21 patients who completed questionnaires on demographic survey and Caring Behaviors Inventory (CBI)-24 (Nurse and Patient version). Descriptive and inferential statistics of socio-demographic profile and caring behavior perceptions of nurses and patients were analyzed for differences and correlations. All P values <0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Nurses reported higher mean scores of perceived caring behaviors in all CBI-24 items of each subscale and in the total scale than patients did. Knowledge and skill was highest for nurses, whereas assurance of human presence was highest for patients. Mean scores for positive connectedness was, however, lowest for both nurses and patients. Significant differences were found between nurses’ and patients’ perceptions on total CBI (U=561.000, p=.019) and on the subscales of knowledge and skill (U=422.000, p=.000) and respectful deference to others (U=587.500, p=.033). A significant relationship also existed between patients’ perception on CBI knowledge-skill and educational attainment (X2=16.500, p=.036). No caring behavior items were found to be treated as equally important by nurses and patients in this study. Discrepancies in the order of importance of nurse caring behaviors suggest inconsistencies in caring perceptions and reciprocity of care.