Nurse-patient interaction in hospital care: a cross-sectional study in Peruvian nurses

Nurse-patient interaction is key to humanized care and improved health outcomes; therefore, updated quantitative studies in hospitals are needed.

To evaluate the levels of nurse-patient interaction and associated factors among nursing professionals.

A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted with 70 nurses from a public hospital in Lima, Peru. The Caring Nurse-Patient Interactions (CNPI-70) was used, which comprises ten dimensions: humanism, hope, sensitivity, helping relationship, expression of emotions, problem-solving, teaching, environment, needs, and spirituality. The instrument, originally developedby Cossetteetal. hasreported Cronbach'salphacoefficients ranging from 0.73 to 0.91. Personal factors were also considered, and bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed.

48.57% of nurses demonstrated a moderate level of caring interaction with their patients, indicating a basic functional relationship but lacking emotional depth. Factors associated with caring interactions were having a family member with a chronic illness (aPR = 1.72; 95% CI: 1.01-2.94) and the number of jobs (aPR = 1.84; 95% CI: 1.08-3.12).

The level of nurse-patient interaction in this study is similar to that reported by other studies in public hospitals, yet differs from that of private hospitals. Regarding the number of jobs, this may be because nurses acquire more experience, develop interpersonal skills, and develop confidence.

The predominant level of nurse-patient interaction was moderate. The factors associated with greater interaction were having a family member with a chronic illness and the number of jobs held.