Nurses’ experiences of patient participation in nursing care and its related factors: A qualitative content analysis

Patient participation is an important component of the patient-centered care approach and part of patients’ rights, with positive outcomes for the health care system. The aim of this study was to explore the nurses' experiences of patient participation in nursing care and its related factors.

Methods & Materials: 

This qualitative study was carried out with the participation of 18 nurses working in educational hospitals of Tabriz in 2019. The purposeful sampling through semi-structured interviews and focus group sessions was used to collect the data. Data analysis was performed using conventional content analysis. To achieve the accuracy of the data, the Lincoln and Guba criteria were used.

Analysis of the data resulted in four main categories "giving information, decision-making, collaboration and respect". The patient’s participation from the nurses’ perspectives was: an interactive process of decision-making and collaboration between the nurse and the patient with the exchange of information, respect, and permission from the patient. The results also included the prerequisites, domains, outcomes, barriers, and solutions for patient participation in nursing care.

Patient participation today is considered the legal right of the patient and also the gold standard of international health care systems. So nurses, health system policy makers, patients and academic centers can use these results to improve patient participation in the care.