DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/nmjn.v10i3.32210

Quality of Nursing Care in Saudi Arabia: Are Empathy, Advocacy, and Caring Important Attributes for Nurses?

*Abdulaziz M. Alsufyani orcid  -  King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz A. Aldawsari  -  Medical Services Administration, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, Saudi Arabia
Sayer M. Aljuaid orcid  -  Taif Comprehensive Rehabilitation Center, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, Saudi Arabia
Khalid E. Almalki  -  Primary Health Care Center Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Yasir M. Alsufyani orcid  -  King Khaled University, Saudi Arabia
Open Access Copyright (c) 2020 Nurse Media Journal of Nursing
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Citation Format:
Abstract

Background: The examination of the literature indicates that practicing nurses are barely engaged in developing enhancement programs for quality nursing care. There are numerous studies on the value of nursing care, but none offers ways of assessing the value of care provided by nurses. Identifying the essence of quality nursing care can facilitate effective enhancement approaches. It was prudent to explore the relationship between advocacy, caring, and empathy in delivering quality nursing care.

Purpose: This study aimed to comprehend the views of Saudi Arabian nurses on how empathy, advocacy, and caring act as measurements of quality of nursing care.

Methods: A qualitative investigative, descriptive design was used to explore the advocacy, empathy, and caring from the viewpoints of practicing nurses. Twenty-one general and specialized medical care nurses from King Saud Medical City in Saudi Arabia were recruited through purposive sampling. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews that were recorded, written out, and subjected to thematic analysis.

Results: The findings have led to the establishment of quality Saudi nursing care with the identification of core themes: empathy, advocacy, and caring. The findings of this study elevate the understanding of the quality of nursing care in the Saudi context.

Conclusion: The participants aver that patient advocacy, empathy, and care are parts of the characteristics of nursing profession. These characteristics aid in listening and comprehending patients’ perspectives. Following the findings, it is suggested to provide training to the nurses to overcome the challenges faced by nurses in reflecting empathy.

Fulltext View|Download
Keywords: Advocacy, caring, empathy, quality nursing care, Saudi Arabia
Funding: None

Article Metrics:

Article Info
Section: Articles
Language : EN
Recent articles
The Effect of “SELF-HELP Packages” on Post Stroke Depression among Ischemic Stroke Survivors Critical Care Nurses’ Experiences of End-of-Life Care: A Qualitative Study Quality of Nursing Care in Saudi Arabia: Are Empathy, Advocacy, and Caring Important Attributes for Nurses? Editorial Back Matter Editorial Front Matter More recent articles
  1. Abbasinia, M., Ahmadi, F., & Kazemnejad, A. (2020). Patient advocacy in nursing: A concept analysis. Nursing Ethics, 27(1), 141-151. doi: 10.1177/0969733019832950
  2. A’la, M. Z., Setioputro, B., & Kurniawan, D. E. (2018). Nursing Students’ Attitudes towards Caring for Dying Patients. Nurse Media Journal of Nursing, 8(1), 25. doi: 10.14710/nmjn.v8i1.17270
  3. Aupia, A., Lee, T., Liu, C., Wu, S. V., & Mills, M. E. (2018). Caring behavior perceived by nurses, patients and nursing students in Indonesia. Journal of Professional Nursing, 34(4), 314-319. doi: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2017.11.013
  4. Austin, W. (2000). Nursing, empathy and perception of the moral. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 32(1), 235-242. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2000.01440.x
  5. Birnie, K., Speca, M., & Carlson, L. E. (2010). Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR). Stress and Health, 26(5), 359-371. doi: 10.1002/smi.1305
  6. Boellinghaus, I., Jones, F. W., & Hutton, J. (2014). The role of mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation in cultivating self-compassion and other-focused concern in health care professionals. Mindfulness, 5(2), 129-138. doi: 10.1007/s12671-012-0158-6
  7. Dadzie, G., Aziato, L., & Aikins, A. D. G. (2017). We are the best to stand in for patients: a qualitative study on nurses’ advocacy characteristics in Ghana. BMC Nursing, 16(1), 1-8. doi: 10.1186/s12912-017-0259-6
  8. Davoodvand, S., Abbaszadeh, A., & Ahmadi, F. (2016). Patient advocacy from the clinical nurses’ viewpoint: A qualitative study. Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, 9, 1-8. doi: 10.1177/0969733016629772
  9. Duarte, J., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Cruz, B. (2016). Relationships between nurses’ empathy, self-compassion and dimensions of professional quality of life: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 60, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2016.02.015
  10. Elewa, A. H., ElAlim, E. A., & Etway, E. G. (2016). Nursing interns’ perception regarding patients’ rights and patients’ advocacy. SOJ Nursing & Health Care, 2(3), 1-6. doi: 10.15226/2471-6529/2/3/00123
  11. Gröndahl, W., Muurinen, H., Katajisto, J., Suhonen, R., & Leino-Kilpi, H. (2019). Perceived quality of nursing care and patient education: a cross-sectional study of hospitalised surgical patients in Finland. BMJ Open, 9(4), e023108. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023108
  12. Hajinezhad, M. E. & Azodi, P. (2014). Nurse caring behaviors from patients’ and nurses’ perspective: A comparative study. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 3(4),1010-1017.Retrieved from http://european-science.com/eojnss/article/download/1300/pdf
  13. Hannan, J., Sanchez, G., Musser, E. D., Ward-Peterson, M., Azutillo, E., Goldin, D., ..., & Foster, A. (2019). Role of empathy in the perception of medical errors in patient encounters: A preliminary study. BMC Research Notes, 12(1), 1-5. doi: 10.1186/s13104-019-4365-2
  14. Heidke, P., Howie, V., & Ferdous, T. (2018). Use of healthcare consumer voices to increase empathy in nursing students. Nurse Education in Practice, 29, 30-34. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2017.11.007
  15. James, R. B., & Mill, J. E. (2018). Developing confidence for patient advocacy: Reflections from an international clinical experience. International Journal of Nursing Student Scholarship, 5, 1-8. Retrieved from https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/ijnss/article/view/56841/42949
  16. Kalu, F. A., & Bwalya, J. C. (2017). What makes qualitative research good research? An exploratory analysis of critical elements. International Journal of Social Science Research, 5(2), 43–56. doi: 10.5296/ijssr.v5i2.10711
  17. Karaca, A., & Durna, Z. (2019). Patient satisfaction with the quality of nursing care. Nursing Open, 6(2), 535-545. doi: 10.1002/nop2.237
  18. Kim, J. (2018). Factors influencing nursing students’ empathy. Korean Journal of Medical Education, 30(3), 229- 236. doi: 10.3946/kjme.2018.97
  19. Kolawole, I. O., & Adejumo, P. O. (2020). Nurses’ view on impact of patient advocacy in oncology care at university college hospital, Nigeria. ARC Journal of Nursing and Healthcare, 6(1), 1-9. doi: 10.20431/2455-4324.0601001
  20. Kuipers, S. J., Cramm, J. M., & Nieboer, A. P. (2019). The importance of patient-centered care and co-creation of care for satisfaction with care and physical and social well-being of patients with multi-morbidity in the primary care setting. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1), 13. doi: 10.1186/s12913-018-3818-y
  21. Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. New York: John Wiley & Sons
  22. Mills, J., & Chapman, M. (2016). Compassion and self-compassion in medicine: Self-care for the caregiver. The Australasian Medical Journal, 9(5), 87-91. doi: 10.4066/AMJ.2016.2583
  23. Molina-Mula, J. & Gallo-Estrada, J. (2020). Impact of nurse-patient relationship on quality of care and patient autonomy in decision-making. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 835-847. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17030835
  24. Molina-Mula, J., & Gallo-Estrada, J. (2020). Impact of nurse-patient relationship on quality of care and patient autonomy in decision-making. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 835. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17030835
  25. Moudatsou, M., Stavropoulou, A., Philalithis, A. & Koukouli, S. (2020). The role of empathy in health and social care professionals. Healthcare, 8(1), 26. doi: 10.3390/healthcare8010026
  26. Nsiah, C., Siakwa, M., & Ninnoni, J. P. (2019). Registered nurses’ description of patient advocacy in the clinical setting. Nursing Open, 6(3), 1124-1132. doi: 10.1002/nop2.307
  27. Nsiah, C., Siakwa, M., & Ninnoni, J. P. (2020). Barriers to practicing patient advocacy in healthcare setting. Nursing Open, 7(2), 650-659. doi: 10.1002/nop2.436
  28. Raab, K. (2014). Mindfulness, self-compassion, and empathy among health care professionals: a review of the literature. Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, 20(3), 95-108. doi: 10.1080/08854726.2014.913876
  29. Ratka, A. (2018). Empathy and the development of affective skills. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 82(10). doi: 10.5688/ajpe7192
  30. Salimi, S., & Azimpour, A. (2013). Determinants of nurses’ caring behaviors (DNCB): Preliminary validation of a scale. Journal of Caring Sciences, 2(4), 269–278. doi: 10.5681/jcs.2013.032
  31. Thomas, D., Newcomb, P., & Fusco, P. (2019). Perception of caring among patients and nurses. Journal of Patient Experience, 6(3), 194-200. doi: 10.1177/2374373518795713
  32. Tirch, D. D. (2010). Mindfulness as a context for the cultivation of compassion. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 3(2), 113-123. doi: 10.1521/ijct.2010.3.2.113
  33. Usta, Y. Y., Demir, Y., & Yagmuroglu, H. (2012). Nurses’ perspective on positive attitudes to cancer patients in Turkey: a qualitative study. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 13(4), 1225-1229. doi: 10.7314/apjcp.2012.13.4.1225
  34. Vaccaro, L., Shaw, J., Sethi, S., Kirsten, L., Beatty, L., Mitchell, G., ..., & Turner, J. (2019). Barriers and facilitators to community‐based psycho‐oncology services: A qualitative study of health professionals’ attitudes to the feasibility and acceptability of a shared care model. Psycho‐oncology, 28(9), 1862-1870. doi: 10.1002/pon.5165
  35. Wallmark, E., Safarzadeh, K., Daukantaitė, D., & Maddux, R. E. (2013). Promoting altruism through meditation: An 8-week randomized controlled pilot study. Mindfulness, 4(3), 223-234. doi: 10.1007/s12671-012-0115-4
  36. World Health Organization. (2020). Maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, and ageing. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/teams/maternal-newborn-child-adolescent-health-and-ageing/quality-of-care

Last update:

No citation recorded.

Last update:

No citation recorded.