Home-Visit Nurses’ Perception of Cooperation with Doctors in Japan:
A Literature Review Focusing on Home-Visit Nursing Practice and Problems
2018 Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 1_61-1_70
Details
2018 Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 1_61-1_70
Purpose: Japanese medical system and roles of nurses differ from in other countries. This study focuses on home-visit nurses’ perceptions of cooperation with doctors in Japan. It employs a review of the Japanese literature to explore home-visit nursing practices and problems experienced in such cooperation. Suggestions for more effective cooperation are then given.
Methods: A total of 25 relevant studies were identified in the Japanese Medical Abstracts Society’s Ichushi Web database. Qualitative data were extracted on home-visit nursing practice and nurses’ problems in cooperating with doctors. The data were analyzed using a qualitative approach.
Results: Five core practice categories and 17 categories were extracted. The five core categories were: reporting to doctors, negotiating with doctors, consulting with doctors, confirming with doctors, and communicating with doctors. Four core problem categories and 16 categories were extracted. The four core categories were: contact with doctors and medical institutions, doctors’ interest in home care, doctors’ knowledge and skill, and relationships with doctors.
Discussion: Home-visit nurses reported information to doctors, but they felt difficulty when contacting doctors and medical institutions. There appear to be three main reasons for this: (1) freedom of access to medical institutions in Japan, (2) there are no professionals specialized in collaborating with doctors, and (3) the range of nurses’ discretion in Japan. The history of nursing education and culture appear to be causes underlying relationships between doctors and nurses in Japan. The culture by which nurses obey doctors and entrust judgment to them is deeply embedded among nurses.
