Participation in nursing documentation: an interview study among home care patients

Abstract

Background: Patient participation contributes to the quality of care and patient satisfaction. Giving patients access to their health record strengthens patient empowerment which could enhance involvement. This study strives to expand the knowledge of participation of home care patients in nursing documentation to contribute to the quality of home care. Research questions: 1. To what extent do home care patients want to participate in nursing documentation? 2. Which barriers and facilitators do home care patients experience regarding their participation in nursing documentation? 3. In which ways has a family caregiver to be involved in nursing documentation, according to home care patients? Method: Qualitative study. The study is partially based on eight semi-structured interviews with home care patients and additional analysis of eleven previously conducted semi-structured interviews. The transcripts were analysed by the method of thematic analyses by Braun and Clarke. Results: Four themes were identified: patient related factors, working methods of the nursing staff, the role of the family caregiver, and barriers and facilitators: the patients’ condition and the digital system. Patients who want to participate in nursing documentation find it important to check the information and to be informed about their physical and mental condition. Some patients don’t want to participate, they see it as a burden or simply don’t feel the need to. Conclusion: The needs of home care patients regarding to participating in nursing documentation differs. Most patients find talking about the written information most important, while other patients want to have access to the documentation and read it themselves. Recommendations: Nurses should discuss with patients how they want to participate in nursing documentation. More research can be done on how to facilitate patients who cannot participate in nursing documentation due to their physical condition.