Effects on Nurses' Quality of Working Life of an Educational Intervention to Strengthen Their Humanistic Practice (ExpCare)

Institut et Haute Ecole de la Santé la Source

Status

Completed

Conditions

Patient-Centered Care

Treatments

Other: Educational intervention - humanistic nursing practice

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT03283891

FNS 10001C_172588

Details and patient eligibility

About

Haemodialysis (HD) patients constitute a vulnerable population with considerable health needs. They are often older persons with comorbid chronic conditions. Despite the substantial technical care they receive, these patients indicate that the quality of the human relationship that develops with nurses-the pivotal element in the care this population receives-can become therapeutic. This feature of the human relationship constitutes the cornerstone of the humanistic practice (caring practice) that all nurses should adhere to. However, according to some authors, such practice tends to fade over time. In 2012, a pilot study allowed to test an educational intervention based on Watson's Theory of Human Caring, the aim of which was to optimise nurses' humanistic practices. The intervention, first developed in Quebec and adapted in Switzerland by a committee of experts, was delivered to a group of nine HD nurses (Canton of Vaud, Switzerland) and evaluated. Preliminary results (qualitative and quantitative) showed the intervention to be highly feasible and acceptable. Moreover, in terms of preliminary outcomes, participating nurses appeared to strengthen their caring attitudes/behaviours toward HD patients post-intervention. Quantitative analyses of patients' questionnaires showed that HD patients perceived significant changes in nurses' caring attitudes/behaviours and maintained their level of quality of life (QoL) over time, which is a definite gain for this population. In light of these positive results, it is important to pursue this line of investigation in order to examine more accurately the intervention's effects on both nurses and patients. To this end, the investigators propose conducting a mixed-methods cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) to assess the effects of an educational intervention to strengthen humanistic practice among nurses working in HD units in French Switzerland, on perceived quality of the nurse-patient relationship (NPR), nurses' team cohesion, nurses' quality of working life (QoWL), and HD patients' QoL. Knowledge acquired in the course of the study will contribute to strengthen nurses' humanistic practice, a key factor in HD patients' QoL.

Enrollment

241 patients

Sex

All

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Nurses:
1. have at least 6 months' work experience in the department;
2. consent to take part in the study. In addition, nurses who intend to leave the HD unit in the 3 months to come will be excluded
Patients
1. be at least 18 years of age and under active treatment for at least 6 months;
2. understand and read French;
3. able to provide informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

Nurses:
1. intention to leave the HD unit in the 3 months after the beginning of the project
Patients
1. being diagnosed with dementia
2. being a new HD patient