Patients' experiences of ward rounds in a Swedish context: a qualitative study

The aim was to explore patients' experiences of ward rounds in inpatient care.

An exploratory qualitative design was chosen, collecting data with one-to-one semistructured interviews, conducted from March to May 2023. An interview guide was used as a basis for the interviews. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

A medical and a surgical ward at a medium-sized hospital in southern Sweden.

Purposeful sampling was used to recruit patients aged 18 years or older. 16 patients were recruited with an age range of 38-72 years.

The findings showed that patients' experiences of ward rounds have a wide range of variation. The main theme was: 'The ward round as a bridge between patients' experiences and knowledge and healthcare professionals'. The main theme consisted of two subthemes, reflecting the variation in patients' experiences: 'Feeling of togetherness versus loneliness' and 'Getting answers or being left in limbo'. The subthemes also highlighted patients' experiences of factors that enabled satisfactory interactions between patients and healthcare professionals during ward rounds, such as comprehensible detailed information and supportive atmosphere, as well as experiences of factors that obstructed such interactions and caused patients to feel uncertainty.

Ward rounds in inpatient care play an important role for patient care and health, functioning as a bridge between patients and healthcare professionals. It is important for healthcare practitioners and policy-makers to create a model for ward rounds that can contribute to an open and supportive atmosphere as well as sharing comprehensible and detailed information.