Outcomes of implementing primary nursing in the care of people with chronic lung diseases: the nurses' experience.

Abstract

AIM: This study describes the outcomes of an action research project carried out to implement primary nursing in the care of people with chronic lung diseases at two hospital units in Iceland. METHODS: The methodological approach was the interpretative perspective. Data from transcribed interviews with 21 nurses and a research journal written by the author were analysed. Themes were generated according to dialectical procedures of interpretation. FINDINGS: The following themes were identified: close relationships with patients, continuity of care, reports of satisfied and secure patients, centrality of individual patient's needs, constant refinement of the system, sensitivity to staffing load and ambitious and responsible nurses. CONCLUSIONS: The nurses participating in this study clearly valued the possibilities that primary nursing brought in terms of higher quality of care for their patients. One of the most important components of high quality care is to know and understand patients' experiences, which is the main outcome of this study. This indicates that implementing primary nursing in the care of people with chronic lung diseases was beneficial from the point of view of the nurses. However, concerns were raised that primary nursing is more sensitive to low staffing than the system it was meant to replace.