Patient’s rejection to nursing care

Abstract

Objective. To describe the meaning patients give to the expe­rience of rejecting nursing care. Methodology. Phenomenological approach research, carried out in the city of Medellin (Colombia) in 2009. 12 inpatient adults between 27 and 54 years of age were interviewed in depth. Data was analyzed according to the scheme proposed by Cohen, Kahan y Steeves. Results. Patients reject nursing care when the staff don’t care about them, punish and mistreat them, are excessively familiar, lack of leadership and knowledge, make mistakes or are negligent. Conclusion. Nurse’s behaviors not according to the discipline principles motivate patient’s rejection of care, not contributing to the art of nursing.

Key words: nursing care; humanization of assistance; nurse-pa­tient relations; qualitative research.