Nurse-patient consultations in primary care: do patients disclose their concerns?

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Author(s)
Green, J.
Jester, Rebecca
McKinley, R.
Pooler, A.
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2013
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Objective: To quantify the extent to which patients disclose their concerns to community nurses during wound care consultations. Method: Using an 'observation checklist' based on themes and subthemes that were identified in a previous study of the same patients, 20 wound care consultations were observed. The non-participant observer completed the checklist and made field notes regarding the context and nature of interactions. Results: Patient participants had 160 opportunities to raise concerns regarding previously-identified pain, exudate and odour, yet they did not do so on 64 (40%) occasions. They had 28, 32 and 84 ...
View more >Objective: To quantify the extent to which patients disclose their concerns to community nurses during wound care consultations. Method: Using an 'observation checklist' based on themes and subthemes that were identified in a previous study of the same patients, 20 wound care consultations were observed. The non-participant observer completed the checklist and made field notes regarding the context and nature of interactions. Results: Patient participants had 160 opportunities to raise concerns regarding previously-identified pain, exudate and odour, yet they did not do so on 64 (40%) occasions. They had 28, 32 and 84 opportunities to raise emotional, wound care and daily living issues, respectively, and they did not on 16 (56%), 3 (9%) and 32 (38%) occasions. Overall, patients did not raise 38% of their concerns. Of the concerns that were raised, 8% were either not acknowledged or were disregarded by their community nurse. Conclusion: If these data are representative, this has profound implications for person-centred care and shared decision-making models of care, which are predicated on patients articulating their needs. They also have implications for the development of practitioners' communication and consulting skills. Declaration of interest: This study was funded by NHS West Midlands Strategic Health Authority. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
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View more >Objective: To quantify the extent to which patients disclose their concerns to community nurses during wound care consultations. Method: Using an 'observation checklist' based on themes and subthemes that were identified in a previous study of the same patients, 20 wound care consultations were observed. The non-participant observer completed the checklist and made field notes regarding the context and nature of interactions. Results: Patient participants had 160 opportunities to raise concerns regarding previously-identified pain, exudate and odour, yet they did not do so on 64 (40%) occasions. They had 28, 32 and 84 opportunities to raise emotional, wound care and daily living issues, respectively, and they did not on 16 (56%), 3 (9%) and 32 (38%) occasions. Overall, patients did not raise 38% of their concerns. Of the concerns that were raised, 8% were either not acknowledged or were disregarded by their community nurse. Conclusion: If these data are representative, this has profound implications for person-centred care and shared decision-making models of care, which are predicated on patients articulating their needs. They also have implications for the development of practitioners' communication and consulting skills. Declaration of interest: This study was funded by NHS West Midlands Strategic Health Authority. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
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Journal Title
Journal of Wound Care
Volume
22
Issue
10
Copyright Statement
© 2013 Mark Allen Healthcare Ltd. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Nursing not elsewhere classified
Nursing