Care related to information sharing with families by nurses providing early postoperative nursing care

Abstract

This study aimed to understand the early postoperative care activities of nurses, such as sharing information with the families of patients who have undergone surgery, and about nursing care based on information sharing with these families. The study participants were eight nurses in charge of care for early postoperative patients. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations of care activities. Data were analyzed qualitatively and inductively. We identified the following categories related to the care activities of nurses in sharing information with the families of postoperative patients : ‘arranging family visits at the early postoperative stage so that the families can obtain necessary information’, ‘perceiving understanding by and thoughts of the families about the postoperative patients’, ‘trying to provide relevant information considering the feelings of the anxious families’, ‘providing information related to the patient conditions at the early postoperative stage’, ‘collecting information from various points of view to understand the families’, ‘connecting the patients and their families by sharing information’, and ‘caring about the families who are likely to feel negatively due to any lack of information’. The nurses provided information for the families in various postoperative situations by considering their psychological state. Furthermore, nurses cared about negative behavior and remarks of the families throughout postoperative care, suggesting that this is in.uenced by a weak relationship with the family due to the shortened preoperative hospitalization period and by the fact that nurses feel tension in providing care. These .ndings suggest the necessity that nurses ensure the quality of information provided for and shared with families while making e.orts to understand the situation of patients and their families in the limited amount of time with awareness of the necessity of having to collecting and sharing information by themselves.