Relative satisfaction with nursing care of patients with ostomies

Nurses and patients engage in an interactive process that is both supportive and educational. The ability of the nurse to communicate with the patient in a manner that the patient perceives as accepting will lead to transaction, goal attainment, effective nursing care, and satisfaction. This study was undertaken to examine the relationship between nurses' perceptions of patients with ostomies and those patients' satisfaction with nursing care. Data were also collected on nurses' confidence in caring for patients with ostomies, the length of time with the patient, and previous experience in caring for patients with new ostomies. Twelve patients with new ostomies and the registered nurses who cared for them on postoperative units at a regional medical center and a community hospital were identified. Reed's 1989 adaptation of Yuker, Block, and Young's 1972 Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons scale was used to obtain the nurse's perceptions of patients with ostomies. The LaMonica-Oberst Patient Satisfaction Scale was used to obtain the ostomy patients' satisfaction with nursing care. No statistically significant relationship was identified between nurses perceptions of patients with ostomies and these patients' satisfaction with care. However, the data suggest that there may be a relationship between higher patient satisfaction scores and three factors: the nurse's confidence in caring for patients with ostomies, the length of the nurse-patient relationship, and the employment of a certified ET nurse in the hospital in which the patient receives nursing care.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)