Receiving self-care advice rather than referral to a general practitioner influences patient satisfaction negatively. Feeling reassured after consultation is strongly related to satisfaction, which in turn has been found to increase the likelihood of engaging in self-care behaviour.

The normative structure of the capability approach described by Nussbaum can ensure that nursing staffs move beyond fulfilling patients' basic needs to consider other capabilities vital for a dignified life.

The needs of nursing care may persist despite the absence of medical needs. The encounter between the nurse and care-seeker is a unique possibility for reassurance and confidence that a minor illness is self-limiting in its nature, and self-care interventions provide relief and comfort.

The caring relationship between the nurse and the person in need of nursing care has been described as a key concept in nursing and could facilitate health and healing by involving the person's genuine needs. The aim of this study was to explore registered nurses' experiences of their relationships with persons in need of home-based nursing care. Individual interviews with nurses (n=13 registered nurses and 11 district nurses) working in home-based nursing care were performed. A thematic content analysis was used to analyze the transcribed interviews and resulted in the main theme Good nursing care is built on trusting relationship and five sub-themes, Establishing the relationship in homebased nursing care, Conscious efforts maintains the relationship, Reciprocity is a requirement in the relationship, Working in different levels of relationships and Limitations and boundaries in the relationship. A trusting relationship between the nurse and the person in need of healthcare is a prerequisite for good home-based nursing care whether it is based on face-to-face encounters or remote encounters through distance-spanning technology. A trusting relationship could reduce the asymmetry of the caring relationship which could strengthen the person's position. The relationship requires conscious efforts from the nurse and a choice of level of the relationship. The trusting relationship was reciprocal and meant that the nurse had to communicate something about themself as the person needs to know who is entering the home and who is communicating through distance-spanning technology.

No abstract