Attitudes of nurses and physicians working in hard-to-heal wound management towards person-centred care.

Abstract

Objective: Person-centred care (PCC) is an important approach as it positively affects disease management. Guiding studies are needed on the use and development of PCC in hard-to-heal (chronic) wound management. This study aimed to determine attitudes and approaches of nurses and physicians working in hard-to-heal wound management towards PCC, and obtain their views and suggestions for its scope and improvement.

Method: Participants of this descriptive survey study consisted of nurses and physicians responsible for hard-to-heal wound care and treatment in healthcare institutions at all levels in Turkey. Data were collected through a structured online survey shared with members of professional associations via social media platforms between March-November 2020. Descriptive statistics and qualitative inductive content analysis were used to analyse data.

Results: Participants (n=418) included physicians (84.2%) and nurses (15.8%). Mean participant-graded their person-centred behaviour level was 8.18±1.80 (out of 10 points). The majority of participants reported that they informed patients about care, treatment processes and options (87.3%) as well as including them in the decision-making process (74.6%). Responses of the participants regarding the scope of PCC were classified into five main categories, the most prominent being: 'individual', 'care', 'professional development' and healthcare system'. Suggestions for the improvement of PCC were classified into seven main categories, with 'personalised care', 'disease-specific care', 'continued training of healthcare professionals should be ensured' and 'home care system should be developed for the continuity of care' among the prominent subcategories.

Conclusion: The findings of this study suggests that education on PCC is an important approach. Institutional protocols and guidelines can support person-centred hard-to-heal wound management. In this study, the level of person-centred behaviour of the participants was determined to be good. Although the results of the study cannot be generalised to all health professionals-the majority of the participants were physicians-it is recommended to develop and disseminate the PCC model in hard-to-heal wound management using the findings.