Quality evaluation of home nursing care: perceptions of patients, physicians, and nurses

Perceptions of patients (n = 135), physicians (n = 99), and nurses (n = 20) regarding home nursing care were studied using a descriptive survey conducted over a 6-month period in a large, voluntary, nonprofit home health agency. An original instrument, based on the American Nurses Association standards of home nursing care within a nursing process framework, was developed for this study. Factor analyses (varimax rotation) yielded four subscales: technical, professional, communication/psychosocial, and teaching aspects of nursing care. Overall, patients and physicians rated their satisfaction with nursing care identically (20% were satisfied, 71% were undecided, 9% were dissatisfied), while 70 percent of the nurses were satisfied, 20 percent were undecided, and 10 percent were dissatisfied with their nursing care. Both physicians and patients were most satisfied with professional aspects of nursing care; nurses were most satisfied with teaching aspects. Patients and physicians were most dissatisfied with teaching; nurses were equally dissatisfied with technical skills and communication/psychosocial aspects of nursing care.