Telephone social support or nursing presence? Analysis of a nursing intervention

The purpose of this qualitative analysis is to elucidate more fully telephone social support as it was delivered within the context of a randomized controlled investigation. To this end, the author used constant comparative methods to analyze telephone logs. The findings are congruent with the operational definition of social support that was selected for the randomized controlled study; however, they are also suggestive of nursing presence. Components of nursing presence that emerged from the data include (a) maintenance of psychological presence, (b) interpersonal reciprocity characterized by a mutual desire to work together, (c) therapeutic communication and full attention to the here and now, and (d) expert nursing practice within the nurse-patient dyad. Outcomes include problem solving, adaptive behavior change, and diminished distress. Researchers are encouraged to continue to use qualitative methods to define and differentiate the concepts of social support and nursing presence more clearly. This is particularly important as the demand for empirically based nursing interventions grows.