Patient's companions as a vulnerable group in Turkish hospitals: A descriptive study

Abstract

BackgroundIn Turkish hospitals, in addition to health care professionals, there are people who are also a significant part of the health care services; even though they are not professionals. In Turkey, these people are known as refakatçi (a patient's companion).ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to identify and describe the concept of the patient's companion from their own perspective and to evaluate the concept of the patient's companion in terms of biomedical ethics.MethodsThis was a descriptive study. Personal interviews were conducted via a structured questionnaire containing open‐ended questions with the patients' companions. Thematic text analysis method was used to analyze the open‐ended questions. The study was conducted at a University Research and Training Hospital in the Aegean Region of Turkey.ResultsA total of 118 patient companions participated in the study. These patient companions stayed with the patients because of their concerns about trusting the health care professionals in caring for the patients. During their stay, the companions encountered several problems, including staying in ward‐type rooms and resting in a single armchair, as well as staying for a mean time span of 4 days, primarily for 24 consecutive hours in each day. Despite these conditions, most of the companions surprisingly declared their satisfaction with their stays.ConclusionsPatients' companions should be defined as bioethical subjects; more specifically, they should be defined as vulnerable subjects and should not be taken advantage of. The description of patient companions as a vulnerable group allows for the ethical evaluation of similar systems, such as those in Israel, Greece, Korea, and Iran, and could allow for the development of a common solution for these systems. Moreover, such a definition provides an important basis for social, ethical, or legal studies on the health care systems in all of these countries.

Paediatric oncology patients’ definitions of a good physician and good nurse

“…Moreover, patient companions perceive patient care as their own responsibility. 33 The nurses' supporting roles in treatment and procedures may have played a role in defining both groups of children with similar definitions. We have also listed the statements of some of the children supporting this in the 'Findings' section:…”

The Health of Companions: Evaluation of Care Burden, Psychological Distress and Psychiatric Disorders of the Companions of Patients in the Medical Ward of a University Hospital

“…In Turkey, these people known as "refakatçi" (the patient's companion) could be spouses, children, close relatives, friends, or neighbors who provide important assistance to hospitalized persons. The companions assist the care of their relatives or friends in the fields of personal hygiene, nutrition, going to the toilet, bathing, and taking oral medication [9][10][11][12][13].…”

“…Furthermore, even if voluntarily performed, being detached from private life, having to leave an individual's home and workplace, and dealing with the severity of the disease of the patient who receives care creates a care burden on the companions. As a result, the companions are vulnerable to physical and psychological conditions and, their quality of life is negatively affected [9,11].…”

“…A study by Sarıtaş et al [21] investigated the burden of care for the companions of patients hospitalized in the oncology service. Akpinar et al [9] identified and described the concept of the patients' companions from the perspectives of the companions and evaluated the concept of the patient's companion in terms of biomedical ethics. Celik et al [22] investigated the roles, expectations, and problems of patient companions.…”

“…In the mentioned studies, however, the health status of the companions was not evaluated, which may have a significant effect on the care burden. It is known that the care burden on the caregiver affects their physical, mental, and social health, and cultural characteristics will change the caregiver/companion's perception of care burden [7,9].…”