QUALITY OF NURSING CARE: NURSES’, PHYSICIANS’, PATIENTS’ AND PATIENTS FAMILY’S PERSPECTIVES: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

Quality in health care has varied aspects, definitions and interpretations.
According to many differences in definition of nursing care quality in various cultures, this study was
done to explore the meaning of nursing care quality from the stakeholders’ point of view.
Materials & Methods: A hermeneutic phenomenology approach was used to conduct this study in
order to depict the lived experiences of nurses, doctors, patients and their relatives about nursing care
quality. Data were collected through individual deep interviews, focus group and observasions, and
analysis using Dikelmann’s method.
Result: In this study, six doctors, ten nurses, twenty-two patients were interviewed individually, and
20 patients’ relatives were interviewed by focus group. 2312 initial codes were extracted at first stage
of analyzing data. Then in ongoing process of analyzing, comparing and reductions, finally, 22
subthemes were extracted and five themes emerged. The concept of quality nursing care from the
perspective of doctors, nurses, patients and their relatives' was difined as “meet the needs of patients
with intentioality, emotional - psychological relationships, support, respect, responsibility and
accountability”.
Conclusion:Nursing managers must identify strategies to support and provide better nursing care,
which reflect purposeful care, nursing responsibility, promotive psychological-affective relationships,
patient respect and support for all clients. Findings may also be used by nurse educators to modify the
nursing education curricula based on caring models within these meanings of quality of nursing care.