In-hospital informal caregivers' needs as perceived by themselves and by the nursing staff in Northern Greece: A descriptive study

BMC Nursing

Despina Sapountzi-Krepia³  Ismini Serpanou¹  Charikleia Georgiadou⁴  Tsaloglidou Areti⁵  Maria Psychogiou⁶  Markos Sgantzos⁸  Vasilios Raftopoulos⁷  Maria Lavdaniti² 

[1] Private Practice, 10 Kefalinias street, 16342, Ilioupolis, Athens, Greece;Department of Nursing, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece;Nursing Department, Frederick University, 7, Y. Frederickou Str. Pallouriotisa, Nicosia, Cyprus;G. Papanicolaou Hospital, Exohi Thesalonikis 57010, Thessalonica, Greece;A.H.E.P.A Hospital, PO Box 1456, TK 541 01, Thessaloniki, Greece;Department of Nursing Science, University of Kuopio, PO Box 1456, TK 541 01, Thessaloniki, Greece, Finland;Nursing Department, Cyprus University of Technology, Mediterranean Research Centre for Public Health and Quality of Care, 215 Paleos dromos Lefkosias-Lemesou, Strovolos, 2029, Nicosia, Cyprus;Department of Anatomy, Medical School, University of Thessaly, BIOPOLIS, 41110 Larissa, Greece

关键词: nursing staff;    informational needs;    informal caregivers;    in-hospital care;    health education needs;   

Others  :  1098191
DOI  :  10.1186/1472-6955-10-19

 received in 2010-11-26, accepted in 2011-10-07,  发布年份 2011

【 摘 要 】

Background

Informal care is common in many countries, especially in Greece, where families provide care in hospitals. Health education and informational needs are important factors for family members which are often underestimated by nursing staff. The aim of this study was to compare the perceptions of the nurses and the in-hospital informal caregivers about the in-hospital informal caregivers' knowledge and informational needs, as well as the factors that influence these perceptions.

Methods

This was a non-experimental descriptive study conducted in three general hospitals in Greece. The sample consisted of 320 nurses and 370 in-hospital informal caregivers who completed questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using t-tests; group comparisons were conducted using ANOVA.

Results

The score of the questionnaire for health education and informational needs was significantly greater for informal caregivers (57.1 ± 6.9 and 26.6 ± 2.8) than for nurses (53.4 ± 5.7 and 22.4 ± 3.1) (p < 0.001). For the nursing staff, the factors that influence the informational needs of patients' caregivers were level of education and working experience, while for the caregivers the level of education was independently associated with the score for the health education needs. Finally, age, marital status, and level of education of informal caregivers' were independently associated with informational needs.

Conclusions

The in-hospital informal caregivers perceived that they have more educational and informational needs than the nurses did. The findings of this study also show that the nursing staff has to identify the needs of in-hospital informal caregivers in order to be able to meet these needs.

【 授权许可】

   
2011 Lavdaniti et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Van den Berg B, Brower W, Van Excel J, Koopmanschap M: Economic valuation of informal care: the contingent measurement method applied to informal caregiving. Soc Sci Med 2005, 61:1342-1355.
• [2]Quattrin R, Artico C, Farneti F, Panariti M, Palese A, Brusaferro S: Study of the impact of the caregivers in an Italian high specialization hospital: presence, costs and nurse's perception. Scand J Caring Sci 2009, 23:328-333.
• [3]Sapountzi-Krepia D, Raftopoulos V, Psychogiou M, Sakellari E, Toris A, Vrettos A, Arsenos P: Dimensions of informal care in Greece: the family's contribution to the care of patients hospitalized in an oncology hospital. J Clin Nurs 2008, 17:1287-1294.
• [4]Irinoye O, Ogunfowokan A, Olaogun A: Family Nursing Education and Family Nursing Practice in Nigeria. J Fam Nurs 2006, 12:442-447.
• [5]Papastavrou E, Charalambous A, Tsagari H: Exploring the other side of cancer care: The informal caregiver. Eur J Oncol Nurs 2009, 13:128-136.
• [6]Karner AM, Dahlgren M, Bergdahl B: Rehabilitation after coronary heart disease spouses' views of support. J Adv Nurs 2004, 46:204-211.
• [7]Papastavrou E, Charalambous A, Tsagari H, Karayiannis G: The cost of caring: the relative with schizophrenia. Scand J Caring Sci 2010, 24:817-823.
• [8]Rotman-Pikielny P, Rabin B, Amoyal S, Mushkat Y, Zissin R, Levy Y: Participation of family members in ward rounds: Attitude of medical staff, patients and relatives. Patient Educ Couns 2007, 65:166-70.
• [9]Astedt-Kurki P, Paavilainen E, Tammentie T, Paunonen-Ilmonen M: Interaction between adult patients' family members and nursing staff on a hospital ward. Scand J Caring Sci 2001, 15:142-150.
• [10]Cormier S, Pickett SJ, Gallagher J: Comparison of nurses' and family members' perceived needs during postanesthesia care unit visits. J Post Anesth Nurs 1992, 7:387-391.
• [11]Lauri M, Lepisto M, Kapelli S: Patients' needs in hospital nurses' and patients' views. J Adv Nurs 1997, 25:339-346.
• [12]Leske JS: The needs of relatives of critically ill patients. Heart Lung 1986, 15:189-193.
• [13]Astedt-Kurki P, Lehti K, Paunonen M, Paavilainen E: Family member as a hospital patient: Sentiments and functioning of the family. Int J Nurs Pract 1999, 5:155-163.
• [14]Bellou-Milona P, Iordanou P, Kyriakidou H, Andrea S, Evangelou H, Kostandou H: Family members' involvement in their hospitalized patients' care. ICUs and Nursing Web Journal 2002.
• [15]Sapountzi-Krepia D, Raftopoulos V, Sgantzos M, Dimitriadou A, Ntourou I, Sapkas G: Informal in-hospital care in a rehabilitation setting in Greece: an estimation of the nursing staff required for substituting this care. Disabil Rehabil 2006, 28:3-11.
• [16]Beaver K, Witham G: Information needs of the informal carers of women treated for breast cancer. Eur J Oncol Nurs 2007, 11:16-25.
• [17]Mason TM: Wives of men with prostate cancer postbrachytherapy: perceived information needs and degree of being met. Cancer Nurs 2008, 31:32-37.
• [18]Richter MS, Peu D: The educational and supportive needs of informal caregivers working at Refentse Clinic Hammanskraal. Curationis 2004, 27:31-40.
• [19]Kosco M, Warren N: Critical Care Nurses perceptions of family needs as met. Crit Care Nurs Q 2000, 23:60-72.
• [20]Peeters JM, Van Beek AP, Meerveld JHCM, Spreeuwenberg PMM, Franke AL: Informal caregivers of persons with dementia, their use of and needs for specific professional support: a survey of the National Dementia Programme. BMC Nursing 2010, 9:9. BioMed Central Full Text
• [21]Bijttebier P, Vanoost S, Delva D, Ferdinande P, Frans E: Needs of relatives of critical care patients: perceptions of relatives, physicians and nurses. Intensive Care Med 2001, 27:160-165.
• [22]Hinkle JL, Fitzpatrick E, Oskrochi GR: Identifying the perception of needs of family members visiting and nurses working in the intensive care unit. J Neurosci Nurs 2009, 41:85-91.
• [23]Leung KK, Chien WT, Mackenzie AE: Needs of Chinese families of critically patients. West J Nurs Res 2000, 22:826-840.
• [24]Maxwell KE, Stuenkel D, Saylor C: Needs of family member of critically ill patients: a comparison of nurse and family perceptions. Heart Lung 2007, 36:367-176.
• [25]Rose JH, Bowman KF, Kresevic D: Nurse versus family caregiver perspectives on hospitalized older patients: an exploratory study of agreement at admission and discharge. Health Commun 2000, 12:63-80.
• [26]Wagner CD: Family needs of chronic hemodialysis patients; a comparison of perceptions of nurses and families. AANA J 1996, 23:19-26.
• [27]Bijttebier P, Delva D, Vanoost S, Bobbarers H, Lawers P, Vertommen H: Reliability and validity of the critical care family needs Inventory in a Dutch -speaking Belgian Sample. Heart Lung 2000, 29:278-286.
• [28]Delva D, Vanoost S, Bijttebier P, Lawers P, Wilmer A: Needs and feelings of anxiety of relatives of patients hospitalized in intensive care units: implications for social work. Soc Work Health Care 2002, 35:21-40.
• [29]Verhaeghe S, Defloor T, Van Zuuren F, Duijnstee M, Grypdonck M: The needs and experiences of family members of adult patients in an intensive care unit: a review of the literature. J Clin Nurs 2005, 14:501-509.
• [30]Polit DF, Hungler BP: Nursing Research. In Principles and Methods. >Lippincott Company: Philadelphia; 1995.
• [31]Pagano M, Gauvreau K: Principles of Biostatistics. Duxbury Press, An International Thomson Publishing Company: Boston; 1996.
• [32]Langa KM, Fendrick AM, Flaherty KR, Martinez FJ, Kabeto MU, Saint S: Informal caregiving for chronic lung disease among older Americans. Chest 2002, 122:2197-2203.
• [33]Takman C, Severinsson E: Comparing Norwegian nurses' and physicians perceptions of the needs of significant others in intensive care units. J Clin Nurs 2005, 14:621-631.