The patient experience of patient-centered communication with nurses in the hospital setting: a qualitative systematic review protocol.

Abstract

Review question/objective The objective of this systematic review is to synthesize the eligible evidence of patients’ experience of engaging and interacting with nurses, in the medical-surgical ward setting. This review will consider the following questions: What are the expressed experiences of patients engaging and interacting in patient-centred communication with nurses? What are the beliefs, opinions and desires of patients, when engaging and interacting with nursing staff in terms of communicating in ways that meet the patients’ needs and wants? What factors do patients perceive influence (facilitate or prevent) patient-centred communication and their engagement and interaction with nursing staff? What are the experiences of patients of nurses listening to and responding to them within patient-centred communication with respect to their safety and experience of care? Inclusion criteria Types of participants The review will consider studies that include adult patients who are 18 years of age and older who have been admitted as inpatients to a medical-surgical ward. Studies and texts presenting adult inpatients to all other hospital wards settings will be excluded. Maternity, emergency department, operating room, palliative and psychiatric ward settings will be excluded. Emergency department settings are excluded as they may not include patients that are admitted to hospital. Operating room settings are excluded because of the variations in the level of consciousness that may occur to patients. Maternity, palliative care and psychiatric patients because of unique needs of care required by these patients. Studies that include patients with cognitive disorders will also be excluded. Phenomena of interest This review will consider studies that investigate patient experience of engaging and interacting with nurses at the bedside in the hospital setting and the meaningfulness of that experience.