Holistic care as a response to the needs of burn patients: a qualitative content analysis

Nurses, together with other members of the care team, not only act for the quality and efficiency of the physical care, but also play an important role in the patient's psychological issues. Since nurse's experiences are shaped due to their continuous exposure to real-world situations in burn wards, the aim of this study was to explore the caring experiences of burn nurses faced with patient's needs and providing them holistic care. This study was a qualitative content analysis conducted at the Taleghani Burn Hospital in Ahvaz, 2013. Data were collected by conducting sixteen semi-structured and in-depth interviews with 10 participating nurses selected through purposeful sampling method. Then, they were analyzed by the conventional, qualitative content analysis approach. Following data analysis, three themes emerged including: providing physical care, providing psychological care, and social support of burn patients. The participants described holistic view towards the patients, overall checking and monitoring, providing care in accordance with assessment results, and their demands as the responsibilities of nurses. So, the persons in charge for burn hospitals and nursing managers could take the appropriate measurement for grounding a holistic point of view in care giving of burned patients.