Nurses' perspectives on quality of nursing care: a qualitative study in Iran

Abstract

PurposeQuality of health care is the degree of the most optimal degree of health outcomes by delivery of effective, efficient and cost‐benefit professional health services to people and communities. As nurses are the largest groups among health care professionals and are legally liable and morally responsible for their care, thus their perspective on quality of nursing care is important. The purpose of this qualitative study is “to define and describe quality from the perspective of nursing experts and clinical nurses”.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper data were collected in two phases (ten individual interviews and five focus group discussions). A total of 44 clinical nurses and ten nursing experts participated through a purposeful sampling frame. Data analysis was conducted by latent content analysis to achieve a definition of nursing care quality.FindingsThe findings in this paper show that, according to similarities and differences between nursing experts' and clinical nurses' perspectives on quality, the final definition is “delivery of safety care based on nursing standards which eventuates in patient satisfaction”. Findings reveal that in nurses' perspectives on quality definition two important aspects have been mostly considered: “standard of care” and “patient satisfaction”. Moreover, both participant groups have emphasized the benefits of collaborative work in health care (teamwork). Further in this study, organizational and socio‐cultural roles in delivering quality nursing care have been mentioned such as staffing, budget, leadership, and social perspectives about nursing as a highly educated profession.Originality/valueThe paper offers an overview of nurses' perspectives of quality of nursing care in Iran.

A Conceptual Framework for Quality of Care

“…While some empirical research has been carried out in this area (6, 13, 20, 37, 41, 45, 52), very limited research has been conducted into the quality of service provided by Iranian healthcare organisations (Tafreshi et al, 2007). However, most of these studies were limited to perspectives of one or at the most two healthcare stakeholders.…”

Nursing students' perception of patient‐centred care: A qualitative study

“…In Iran, limited studies have been conducted on the viewpoint and perception of nurses and patients about patient‐centred care (Cheraghi et al, ; Tafreshi, Pazargadi, & Abed Saeedi, ; Zamanzadeh, Azimzadeh, Rahmani, & Valizadeh, ). However, no study has ever been conducted on the understanding of nursing students from the concept of patient‐centred care.…”

Comparative Study of Patients’ Satisfaction with Nursing Service in Major Units of Selected Training Hospitals in Tehran

“…Accordingly, a patient's satisfaction with nursing service is very important, and serves as a part of the patient's satisfaction with the treatment process [10]. Also, by interviewing members of the nursing faculty, managers and nurses working in hospitals, Tafreshi et al stated that "standard service" and "a patient's satisfaction" influence other components in the definition of quality nursing service [11].…”

“…According to a patient's judgment, the quality of health care, particularly the quality of nursing care, is a subjective and unique phenomenon, in that factors such as unit leadership style, the method of nursing care and the ratio of nurse to patient in the hospitalization unit, diagnosis type, treatment method, previous experiences of a patient, education level, patient authorities, and communications between a patient and staff, may affect a patient's satisfaction [11][12][13].…”