Comparison of caring nurse-patient interactions of nurses and individuals with chronic diseases

The research was conducted with nurses and individuals hospitalized with a diagnosis of chronic disease to compare care-oriented nurse-patient interactions between individuals with chronic diseases and nurses. The research sample consisted of 100 nurses working at Necmettin Erbakan University Meram Faculty of Medicine and 149 individuals hospitalized with chronic diseases. Data for the study were collected between July and December 2022 through face-to-face interviews with nurses and patients, utilizing the Sociodemographic Information Form and the Caring Nurse-Patient Interaction Scale Short Form (nurse and patient versions). In addition to descriptive statistics for data evaluation, the Shapiro-Wilk test was employed for normality testing, the Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis Test were used for group comparisons, and the Bonferroni test was applied to compare the groups. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to assess relationships between variables. It was discovered that 60% of the nurses were women, 88% held bachelor's degrees, and 95% worked in shifts. Nurses' Caring Nurse-Patient Interaction Scale total score averages in the importance dimension were 100.31±6.97, in the adequacy dimension, it was 92.64±8.34 points, and in the applicability dimension, it was 89.5±10.62 points. Among the individuals with chronic diseases participating in the study, 51.7% were male, 51% were university graduates, 50.3% were not employed, and 56.4% had incomes less than their expenses. The Caring Nurse-Patient Interaction Scale significance total score average of individuals with chronic diseases was 89.28±10.70 points, the frequency total score average was 81.52±9.94 points, and the satisfaction total score average was 93.83±7.14. It was found that nurses maintained a positive level of care-oriented interaction with their patients and considered such interaction important and applicable. Additionally, individuals with chronic diseases valued nurse-patient interaction, deemed the interaction frequency sufficient, and expressed satisfaction with it. In conclusion, the research determined that both nurses and individuals with chronic diseases experienced high levels of caring nurse-patient interaction. It is recommended to conduct further studies with different sample groups to explore caring nurse-patient interaction in more depth. Keywords: Chronic illness, Communication, Nursing, Nursing care, Nurse-patient interaction.