Introduction
The introduction of the “Applying Watson’s nursing theory to assess patient perceptions of being cared for in a multicultural environment” states the rationale for the study and its relevance to the nursing profession. The study aims to apply Watson’s Nursing Theory to evaluate patient perceptions of care in a multicultural environment. The authors provide a sufficient justification for the study by stating that nursing care is crucial to healthcare.
Patients’ perceptions of care influence their satisfaction and health outcomes. Given the increasingly diverse patient populations encountered by healthcare providers globally, the article’s relevance to nursing practice is evident. The study aims to assess the applicability of Watson’s Nursing Theory in a Middle Eastern cultural setting and to determine whether patient perceptions of care vary according to gender.
Study Design and Methods
The study employs a quantitative cross-sectional design using a survey questionnaire. The questionnaire aimed to gather information from a convenience sample of 100 inpatients at a Saudi Arabian tertiary care facility (Suliman et al., 2009). The study’s inclusion criteria were patients aged 18 years and above. An additional component was that they should be able to understand Arabic or English.
The recommended hospital stay should be at least 24 hours (Suliman et al., 2009). The authors used a translated and culturally adapted version of the Caring Behaviors Assessment (CBA) to collect data on patient perceptions of care. The study used descriptive statistics to summarize data and inferential statistics to compare means between groups.
Strengths
The study’s strengths include its straightforward research question and aim, the use of an established theoretical framework, and the rigorous study design employed. The authors have provided a thorough account of the sample characteristics and deemed the sample size sufficient for a quantitative study. Using a culturally adapted version of the CBA enhances the study’s validity and reliability. The authors acknowledge the limitations of the research, including the potential for biased responses, and propose areas for future investigation.
Limitations
The authors acknowledged that the length of the assessment tool used in the study could have been a potential limitation, as it may have caused a burden on patients. Furthermore, the authors suggested that future research could supplement patient perceptions with nurse perceptions and on-site observations to better understand how frequently nurses attend to caring behaviors. However, the authors could have provided more precise suggestions for addressing these limitations in future research.
Implications for Practice
The study’s findings have several implications for nursing practice. Those include the importance of effective communication and language proficiency in promoting patient-centered care. The authors recommend that nursing students receive training in culturally competent care and communication skills. It enhances their ability to provide quality care in a multicultural environment. The study highlights the importance of acknowledging and addressing disparities in how patients perceive care between genders.
Implications Further Research
The study suggests several avenues for future research. These include the requirement for a more extensive and varied sample to increase the applicability of the findings. Future research should also analyze the accuracy and consistency of the culturally adapted version of the CBA. Furthermore, research should investigate the influence of nursing staff’s cultural diversity on patients’ perceptions of care and the effectiveness of interventions aimed at enhancing healthcare providers’ cultural competence.
Quality of the Study
The study had several limitations, such as potential response bias due to patients providing socially desirable answers that may have influenced the results. It is essential to note that the results may not apply to other healthcare settings. The reason is that the study was conducted in only one hospital. In addition, the assessment tool’s length could have been a burden for patients. The tool may have influenced the participants’ responses. It is essential to note that the limitation may have affected the accuracy of the findings.
Moreover, the study only assessed patient perceptions of care. It did not include the perceptions of nurses or other healthcare providers. The inclusion could have provided a more comprehensive understanding of the patient experience.
Including on-site observations or interviews with nursing staff would have helped supplement patient perceptions. Finally, the study’s reliance on a translated and culturally adapted version of the CBA raises concerns about the validity and reliability of the instrument. While attempts were made to secure the validity of the translation, cultural differences could have influenced patient responses, and the authors needed to address this possibility adequately.
The figures presented in the study illustrate the various types of data related to caring behaviors. However, some problems may occur when a reader examines those tables. For example, in Table 2, one limitation is that it only presents the rank of importance assigned by patients to caring behaviors (Suliman et al., 2009). It does not provide any information on the frequency of occurrence or the level of satisfaction with each caring behavior. Consequently, it is hard to determine how well healthcare providers meet patients’ needs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the article presents valuable insights into how patients perceive care in a multicultural setting. The study is robust, with clear research objectives and a well-established theoretical framework. The use of a rigorous study design is another strength. The research highlights the importance of considering gender differences in patients’ perceptions of care. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the importance of cultural competence in patient care and how cultural diversity among nursing staff may influence patients’ perceptions of care.
Reference
Suliman, W. A., Welmann, E., Omer, T., & Thomas, L. (2009). Applying Watson’s nursing theory to assess patient perceptions of being cared for in a multicultural environment. Journal of Nursing Research, 17(4), 293–300. Web.