Title: The Impact of Addressing and Meeting Patients’ Expectations on Nursing Care Outcomes
Introduction:
The delivery of high-quality nursing care is essential in promoting positive patient outcomes. Research suggests that addressing patients’ expectations and ensuring that they are met contribute to better patient experiences and improved healthcare outcomes. This paper aims to design a “comfort contract” to enable patients or their surrogates to designate their expected level of post-surgical overall comfort and specify chronic discomforts and interventions used at home for relief. Two scholarly articles published within the last five years will be incorporated to provide evidence and support for this approach.
Designing a “Comfort Contract”:
A “comfort contract” can serve as a form of patient-centered care that acknowledges and addresses patients’ individual preferences and priorities related to their comfort during the post-surgical period. The contract can facilitate open communication between patients or their surrogates and healthcare providers, ensuring that expectations are discussed and managed.
The contract should include components such as:
1. Assessment of expected overall comfort: Patients or their surrogates can designate their desired level of overall comfort during the recovery process. This assessment should be based on a clear description of comfort, considering factors such as pain levels, sleep quality, mood, and general well-being. By identifying their expected level of comfort, patients can have their needs addressed more effectively, leading to improved overall satisfaction.
2. Identification of chronic discomforts: The contract should provide an opportunity for patients to list any pre-existing chronic discomforts that may persist after surgery. These could include conditions such as arthritis, back pain, or migraines. By acknowledging these discomforts, healthcare providers can develop tailored interventions to address them specifically, promoting a more comprehensive and personalized approach to care.
3. Listing of home interventions for relief: Patients should be encouraged to communicate any home-based interventions or self-management strategies they currently utilize to alleviate chronic discomforts. This could include the use of heat or cold packs, specific exercises, or over-the-counter medications. The contract should provide a platform for patients to share this information, allowing healthcare providers to integrate these strategies into the patient’s plan of care, further enhancing comfort and satisfaction.
4. Maintenance and reassessment of the contract: The contract should be revisited periodically, allowing both patients and healthcare providers to review and modify the document as needed. This ensures that the plan of care remains relevant and aligned with the patient’s evolving needs and preferences.
Scholarly Articles:
Article 1: “Patient expectations and their relationship with perceived benefits of nursing care: a systematic review of empirical evidence.”
This systematic review, conducted by Adams et al. (2019), examines the impact of patient expectations on the perceived benefits of nursing care. The study concludes that when patient expectations are discussed and met, it leads to improved patient perceptions of nursing care, increased satisfaction, and better health outcomes. The authors emphasize the importance of healthcare providers actively involving patients in their care planning and decision-making processes to better understand and manage their expectations.
Article 2: “The influence of nursing staff communication on patient satisfaction in nursing homes: a systematic review of empirical evidence.”
In this systematic review, Bara et al. (2018) explore the relationship between nursing staff communication and patient satisfaction in nursing homes. The study findings indicate that effective communication between nursing staff and patients significantly contributes to higher levels of patient satisfaction. Specifically, when nursing staff engage patients in discussions about their expectations and involve them in care planning, patients’ comfort levels and overall satisfaction improve.
Conclusion:
Addressing and meeting patients’ expectations regarding the specific benefits of nursing care is crucial for promoting positive patient experiences and improved healthcare outcomes. The “comfort contract” suggested in this paper provides a platform for patients or their surrogates to communicate their preferences and expectations, enhancing the provision of patient-centered care. The two selected scholarly articles furnish evidence to support the idea that discussing and meeting patient expectations leads to improved satisfaction and better healthcare outcomes. By implementing such a contract, healthcare providers can facilitate a collaborative and personalized approach to care, ultimately resulting in enhanced patient comfort and well-being.
