J Nurs Acad Soc.  1990 Apr;20(1):61-78.

A Study on Nurse-Patient Interacting Behaviour Patterns

• Lee SS
• Chi SA

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to confirm the interacting behavior between nurses and patients and other things concerned herewith. Subjects of investigation were : 42 nurses selected out of the average nurses who serve in hospital as nurses assigned to medical and surgical wards : and 42 male and female adult patients selected out of the average patients who were under the care of the nurse individuals and can make themselves understood verbally. A nurse and her patient were paired off for questioning. Materials for statistics were gathered by means of observaing interactions - - verbal and nonverbalo - - of the chosen subjects for four hours every day from 7 : 30 a.m. through 7 : 30 p.m. between on July 15, 1 988 and on Aug. 16, 1988. Classified by patterns, the materials observed and gathered were preliminarily analyzed by this researcher, and then reexamined in a full-fledged way by one professor, three nurses and three non ?nurses. The researcher depended chiefly on Frequency, ANOVA, Pearson's Correlation Coefficient attached to SPSS Computer System for the process of gathered materials. The results of this investigations are follows 1) A total of 98 times' interactions between nurses and patients were provided during observation of 16 8 hours. 2) It took them the averaged 264.8 seconds (around 4.4 minutes) per a couple of subjects to interact between nurses and patients during observation of four hours. 3) The aim of interactions between nurses and patients appear that 29 times of injection amounted to 29.6% the most, 27 times of PO around to 27.6% the next most, 25 times of vital check to 25.5% the next most, 17 times of independent nursing works and round to 17.3% the least most. 4) As a result of Qualitative analyzing the interactions between nurses and patients by the distinctive method of words were positively recognized in 19 cases with 45.2% and negatively in 23 cases with 54.8%. 5) A total of 2,193 times, interaction behaviours between nurses and patients were provided. The frequency of these interaction behaviours took place 1,3 64 times with 62.2% to nurse, and 829 times with 3 7.8% to patients. 6) The classification of verbal and nonverbal interaction behaviour between nurses and patients indicated that it is amounted to 64.9% for verbal behaviour numbered 1,423 and 35.1% for nonverbal one numbered 770. 7) The frequency of verbal behaviour between nurses and patients numbered 1,423 in total. They took place 924 times to nurses and 499 times to patients, it can be also amounted to 64.9% and 35.1% respectively in percentagewise. 8) In interactions betwen nurses and patients, it turned out that the frequency of nurses' turns, which the present research discovered averaged 16.8 times for four hours, and the verbal behaviours by numbered 9.7 on an average. 9) Nonverbal behaviours between nurses and patients numbered 770 in total, it is assigned 440 times to nurse with 57.1% and 330 times to patients with 42.9%. 10) The investigation releases in formation that the frequency of verbal behaviours between nurses and patients was very much concerned with the age of patients(r=0.422, p<.01) and the number of patients one nurse has under her care (r= -0.356, p<.01). 11) It was found that were deep relationship of the number of a nurses turn with the patients age(r=0. 377, p<.01) and the nurses burden of caring patients (r=-0.372, p<.01).

MeSH Terms

Adult
Analysis of Variance
Communication
Female
Humans
Male
Nonverbal Communication
*Nurse-Patient Relations
Speech