Nurses' perspectives of the patient care experience assessment items using importance-performance analysis

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Experience Research
• Nursing Quality Improvement

Background:

• Patient experience is integral to healthcare, emphasizing patient satisfaction and needs.
• Effective patient experience relies on healthcare providers acting as partners in care delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the perceived importance and performance of patient experience evaluation items by hospital nurses.
• To identify specific areas within patient experience that require improvement from the care provider's viewpoint.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey design was employed.
• Data were collected from 193 direct care nurses across two South Korean hospitals.
• Importance and performance ratings were gathered for 15 patient experience evaluation items.

Main Results:

• Significant discrepancies between importance and performance were found in several areas.
• Key areas requiring focus include drug information, patient listening, adverse drug reaction communication, hospital environment cleanliness, and complaint notification.
• Specific statistical significance was noted for 'listening to patients' (p < .001) and 'description of adverse drug reactions' (p < .001).

Conclusions:

• Nurses' awareness and performance levels vary across patient experience items.
• Targeted interventions are needed for items perceived as important but underperforming.
• Developing nursing standards and educational programs is crucial for enhancing patient experiences, necessitating policy integration.