A comparison between orthopaedic nurses’ and patients’ perception of individualised care

This exploratory study compares orthopaedic nurses’ perceptions of individualised nursing care with previously published orthopaedic patients’ perceptions. Orthopaedic nurses (N = 243) from one university, two central and two county hospitals working within in-patient care were surveyed using the Individualised Care Scale-Nurse (ICS-Nurse) in 2009 (response rate 74%, n = 180). The data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. About 60% of the nurses stated that it was very important that the care provided is individualised in comparison with 86% of the patients as previously reported (p-value <0.001). The highest rated assessment of individualised care was the clinical situation and the lowest the personal life situation which is in line with the patients’ experiences. This result demonstrates the need of managers in healthcare organisations to redouble their efforts in the implementation of individualised care by investigating nurses’ contemporary beliefs about, and forces that hinder the provision of individualised nursing care.