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Relational message themes in nurses' listening behavior during brief patient-nurse interactions
1School of Nursing, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.
Abstract:
Using a relational message framework, this study examined themes communicated by nurses' listening behavior during brief patient-nurse interactions and whether the pattern of thematic scores reflected a positive patient-nurse relationship. A sample of 126 White college women individually viewed a videotape of six nurses listening to a patient-actress for 25 to 32 seconds. Participants reported what each nurses' listening behavior communicated on a 30-item instrument. Principal axis factoring using a seven-factor solution explained 57.7% to 65.0% of the common variance. Six of the factors proposed in the relational message framework were identified in each interaction: Trust/Receptivity, Depth/Similarity/Affection, Difference, Composure, Dominance or Power, and Formality. In four interactions the pattern of thematic scores suggested communication of a positive patient-nurse relationship. Thus it appears that the communication of positive patient-nurse relationships is not necessarily precluded by the time constraints in contemporary nursing practice.
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