PROMOTING THE HUMANIZED CARE COMPETENCY FOR CHRONICALLY ILL PATIENTS OF NURSING STUDENTS

Abstract

Background: Chronic disease is a life-threatening serious progressive illness and the leading cause of global dead, including Thailand. Nurses are expected to provide quality care for patients. Boromarajonani College of Nursing Phra-Putthabat (BCNPB) has the mission of humanized care as an identity for graduated nurses to provide quality care for chronically ill patients. To promote the competency of humanized care to all nursing students is the ultimate goal. Humanized care competency was defined as service mind, analytical thinking, and participation of nursing students. Humanized care for chronically ill patients was integrated into the love hometown project during the vacation. The main concept of promoting humanized care competency was authentic learning. The activities were composed of volunteer caring for chronic illness patients, narrative storytelling, reflective thinking, small group discussion, and participated in the BCNPB show & share chronic care exhibition. They shared the experience, knowledge, innovation, and local Thai wisdom that was important as their transformative learning.

Purpose: This study aimed to 1) develop the activity promoting the humanized care of nursing students for chronically ill patients which integrated to the love hometown project and 2) examine knowledge of chronically care for patients and attitude of nursing students and patient satisfaction.

Methods: Study design was research and development. The first cycle was developed in 2015. The second cycle was implemented in 2016 which compose of 3 phase: planning, acting, and reflection and evaluation. The sample was 275 chronic illness patients and 283 nursing students of BCNPB who participated in the love hometown project from June to August 2016. The chronic care knowledge and the attitude of nursing student data were collected as pre-posttest. Also, the satisfaction of chronically ill patients was measured. The knowledge and attitude of nursing students and patients’satisfaction questionnaires were used which Cronbach's alpha reliability 0.72, 0.88, and 0.88 respectively. The percentage, standard deviation, average, range and pair t-test was used to analyze the data.

Results: The love hometown project was developed to promote the humanized care competency of nursing students. After caring for the patient during the vacation, the knowledge about the chronic care of nursing students had statistically significantly higher than before they care for the patient (p<.01). Also, the level of the attitude of nursing students was statistically significantly higher than before caring for the patient (p<.01). The mean score of patient satisfaction was 92.93 % (SD = 5.80, range = 100.00 – 72.00) that was at the very good level.

Conclusions: The integrated of humanized chronic care to the love hometown project was effectiveness to promote the improvement of humanized chronic care in nursing students. For more usefulness implementation, the period of time for promoting the achievement and sustainable of humanized chronic care in nursing students should be extended.