Abstract
BackgroundIndividualized care is a cornerstone of patient-centered nursing care. To foster individualized care, influencing factors should be known. The aim of this study was to identify the individual and organizational factors influencing hospitalized patients’ perception of individualized care.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted of 606 patients from 20 wards from five hospitals across Germany. Individualized care and potential influencing factors were assessed via structured questionnaires. To identify influencing factors, we applied a hierarchical linear model with two levels.ResultsSelf-rated health, length of ward stay, educational level and shared decision-making process about nursing care were perceived to influence individualized care. A higher rating of health and longer ward stay correlated with improved perceptions of individualized nursing care. In addition, an educational level of nine or fewer years and a perceived shared decision-making process about nursing care positively influenced the perception of nursing care as being tailored to individual needs.ConclusionsSeveral factors influence patients’ perception of individualized care. However, only the decision-making process can be actively influenced by nurses. Therefore, nurses should be encouraged to promote shared decision-making regarding patients’ nursing care.Trial numberDRKS00005174 (Date of registration: 2013/08/01).
Highlights
Individualized care is a cornerstone of patient-centered nursing care
Patient-centered nursing care (PCNC), which puts the patient in the center of the care process and is holistic, individualized, tailored, respectful and empowering [1, 2], has been attracting attention for decades
Planned and unplanned hospital stays were nearly equal in number, and the median length of hospital stay was eight days
Summary
Individualized care is a cornerstone of patient-centered nursing care. Patient-centered nursing care (PCNC), which puts the patient in the center of the care process and is holistic, individualized, tailored, respectful and empowering [1, 2], has been attracting attention for decades. The number of hospitals and hospital beds fell; overall numbers of hospitalized patients and of care-dependent patients have risen, while the number of full-time nursing positions decreased [5]. Against this background, nurses fear that the shift in the nursing care delivery system towards a PCNC approach will be reversed [6, 7]
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