Table 3 RN attitudes to potential barriers in ensuring patient care at end-of-life depending on the department
Row. No. | Statement | Surgical department n = 344 | Intensive care department n = 195 | Internal medicine department n = 516 | N = 1055 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M (SD) | M (SD) | M (SD) | p | ||
1 | The patient’s relatives having inadequate understanding of the situation interfere with the nurses’ duties | 4.16 (0.73) | 4.09 (0.75) | 4.18 (0.72) | 0.319c |
2 | Nurses have to deal with angry patient’s family members | 4.04 (0.86) | 4.05 (0.87) | 4.18 (0.87) | 0.004c |
3 | Family has no access to psychological help after being informed about the patient’s diagnosis | 3.97 (0.91) | 4.04 (0.89) | 3.86 (1.04) | 0.217c |
4 | Usually there is no time for conversations with patients about their wishes concerning the end of life decisions | 3.95 (0.85) | 3.89 (0.87) | 4.00 (0.87) | 0.150c |
5 | Family members or friends regularly call for a nurse in order to find out about the patient’s condition instead of addressing an informed family member | 3.83 (0.87) | 4.02 (0.85) | 3.83 (0.92) | 0.034c |
6 | Very often, the patient’s family members disagree on which treatment is most appropriate. | 3.80 (0.81) | 3.75 (0.89) | 3.83 (0.85) | 0.449c |
7 | The patient’s family members disagree on what kind of care is the most adequate | 3.72 (0.87) | 3.90 (0.78) | 3.85 (0.87) | 0.046c |
8 | The lack of nursing knowledge on how to treat the patient’s grieving family | 3.42 (0.99) | 3.33 (0.99) | 3.26 (1.06) | 0.125c |
9 | The nurse’s opinion on immediate patient care is not welcome, valued or discussed | 3.40 (1.09) | 3.46 (1.08) | 3.39 (1.11) | 0.770c |
10 | Physicians are too optimistic about the patient’s survival prospects during conversations with the patient’s family members | 3.27 (0.99) | 3.19 (0.97) | 3.25 (1.03) | 0.627c |
11 | Physicians are evasive and avoid conversation with the patient and/or family members | 3.09 (1.10) | 2.91 (1.07) | 3.08 (1.14) | 0.251c |