Nurses' attitudes towards family importance in nursing care across Europe

Abstract

Aims and Objective To explore differences in nurses' attitudes regarding the importance of family in nursing care and factors associated with nurses' attitudes across 11 European countries. Background Family involvement in healthcare has received attention in many European healthcare systems. Nurses have a unique opportunity to promote family involvement in healthcare; however, their attitudes and beliefs may facilitate or impede this practice. Design A cross‐sectional survey across European countries. Method A broad convenience sample of 8112 nurses across 11 European countries was recruited from October 2017 to December 2019. Data were collected using the Families' Importance in Nursing Care‐Nurses' Attitudes (FINC‐NA) questionnaire. We used the STROBE checklist to report the results. Results There were significant differences in nurses' attitudes about families' importance in nursing care across Europe. Country was the factor with the strongest association with the total scores of the FINC‐NA. Older age, higher level of education, increased years since graduation, having a strategy for the care of families in the workplace, and having experience of illness within one's own family were associated with a higher total FINC‐NA score. Being male and working in a hospital or other clinical settings were associated with a lower total FINC‐NA score. Conclusion Nurses' attitudes regarding the importance of family in nursing care vary across 11 European countries. This study highlights multiple factors associated with nurses' attitudes. Further research is necessary to gain a deeper understanding of the reasons for nurses' different attitudes and to develop a strong theoretical framework across Europe to support family involvement in patient care. The inclusion of family healthcare programs in the baccalaureate curriculum may improve nurses' attitudes. Relevance for clinical practice In clinical practice, the focus should be on identifying influencing factors on nurses' attitudes to enhance families' importance in nursing care across Europe.

Nurses' Attitudes Towards Family Importance in Nursing Care Across Europe

“…While UK and Ireland have the highest score, Austria has the lowest score overall. Increased years since graduation, older age, having a strategy for the care of families in the workplace, higher level of education and having experience with illness within one’s own family were associated with a higher total FINC-NA score 2. Additionally, working in a hospital as opposed to other settings and being male was associated with a lower total FINC-NA score 2…”

“…The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines for articles reporting cross-sectional studies was used. Out of a sample of 8112 nurses across 11 European countries,2 metrics measured included gender (male or female), nursing education, work in a hospital or clinical setting, personal experience with family illness, years since graduation from nursing school, experience with family approach to patient care 2…”

“…Patient-centred and family-centred care interventions are implemented in many settings to improve quality healthcare 1. Shamali et al 2 looked at how different nursing professionals in 11 European countries perceived family involvement in patient care and how certain factors influenced nurses’ attitudes towards family involvement. The attitudes and observations of nursing professionals may help or hinder the process of advocating for future family involvement in healthcare.…”

Hospital and homecare nurses' experiences of involvement of patients and families in transition between hospital and municipalities: A qualitative study

“…However, nurses' attitude towards including families in nursing care is also decisive for if -and to which degree -they involve families in nursing care. Nurses who respect and acknowledge families' significance for patients' recovery are more likely to take the initiatives to involve families in nursing care [38,50].…”

The symphony of open-heart surgical care: A mixed-methods study about interprofessional attitudes towards family involvement

“…Nurses generally hold positive attitudes towards family involvement in care, but some variations related to nurses´ personal experiences, educational level and context of workplace have been found in previous studies (Barreto et al, 2022 ). There are also significant differences in nurses’ attitudes between countries (Cranley et al, 2022 ; Shamali et al, 2022 ). At times, nurses’ negative attitudes may hinder family involvement, such as holding the belief that the patient comes first and family members take time away from patient care (Mackie et al, 2018 ).…”