Perception of Caring Behavior of Nurses and Patients

ABSTRACT Introduction: Nurses have several tasks but one of the most crucial for them is to provide quality patient care. However, patients’ perception of care might differ with what nurses think. Patients perceive caring as a developed interpersonal relationship between themselves and their nurses. Contrarily, nurses perceive caring as providing quality care through being knowledgeable and compliant in the prescribed orders through the course of treatment. Aims: This study aims to develop a distinct comparison between the perception of care of patients and nurses. Methodology: A descriptive-comparative design was utilized. Survey data were collected from 200 nurses and 160 patients in the general nursing units of a private, tertiary-level general hospital in the Philippines. The Caring Behaviors Inventory-24 (CBI-24) was used to obtain perceptions of care between nurses and patients. Data was analyzed using t-test to compare care perceptions between nurses and patients. Statistical significance was based on p < .05. Results: The results showed no statistical difference between nurses’ and patients’ CBI-24 scores. Among CBI-24 items, only seven had significant statistical difference. Specifically, staff nurses reported higher scores for ‘spending time with the patient’ and ‘demonstrating professional knowledge and skill’ while patients reported higher scores for ‘giving instructions or teaching the patient,’ ‘supporting the patient,’ ‘being patient or tireless with the patient,’ ‘including the patient in planning his or her care,’ and ‘giving the patient’s treatments and medications on time.’ Conclusions: In general, the perceptions of care between nurses and patients is at the same level. However, there are specific caring behaviors where nurses over- or underestimate themselves. Overall, the results can be used to develop strategies to further improve the quality of care provided to patients. Keywords: Nurses, Patients, Philippines, Nursing Care Management, Caring