Claudia K. Y. Lai, Esther S. P. Mok, Zhi-Xue Zhang
(Paper presented in the 13th Annual Nursing Conference: "Nurses, Always There For You", 2000 and this project was partially supported by the Central Research Grant, G53.37.YY08, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)
Abstract
This project studied the coping behavior of adult patients with chronic illness. A total of 70 participants with different chronic illnesses were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were transcribed verbatim. A section of the interview questionnaire focused on the ways these patients think nurses could help them, what nurses had done in the past to help them, and how helpful the nurses' assistance had been. This paper reports on the content analysis of 38 participant interviews within the larger sample, who were able to complete a particular questionnaire section. Data was read and reread by the researchers to identify key themes as expressed by the patients. The research team then discussed the themes until a consensus was reached. Analysis of the themes revealed two main features. First, subjects frequently reported that they dared not 'bother' the nurses, as they were always busy. Second, comments from subjects showed that they were very appreciative of the health education provided and of the reassuring/comforting roles played by the nurses. However, of more concern in this study identified that nursing work is 'silent' and not easily visible. When asked, many subjects responded that nurses did nothing much to help them. They were only able to recall what nurses had done for them after being reminded. Several postulations were identified in the literature to account for this invisibility of nursing work. These include patient-related factors, nursing-related factors, and the nature of the work. Findings from this study highlight both the importance of the health education and comforting roles of nurses and of the unobtrusive nature of the work done by nurses.
Key words: Chronic illness, nurses' role, nursing care