Individualized Care in The Covid-19 Pandemic: Perceptions of Patients and Nurses

Individualized care is patient-centred and personalized care. The Covid-19 disease affects the individualized care perceptions of both patients and nurses. The aim of this study was to determine the individualized care perceptions of patients and nurses in the Covid-19 pandemic.

This descriptive study was conducted between December 2020 and March 2021 with 154 nurses working in Covid-19 clinics and intensive care units of a training and research hospital in Istanbul/Turkey and 213 patients hospitalized due to Covid-19. The data were collected with "Patient Information Form" and "Individualized Care Scale-B-Patient" for patients, and "Nurse Information Form" and "Individualized Care Scale-B-Nurse" for nurses.

While 64.3% (n=137) of the patients considered that they received individualized care, only 45.5% (n=70) of the nurses stated that they believed they provided individualized care to their patients. The mean individualized care scale scores of patients and nurses were 4.02±0.93 and 4.15±0.44, respectively, and it was determined that there was no significant difference between the scale scores of patients and nurses.

In this study, the individualized care perceptions of Covid-19 patients and nurses providing care were found to be quite high considering the conditions in the pandemic process. It is believed that improving the working conditions of nurses and overcoming barriers to provide individualized care will improve the quality of care.