Congruence between parent satisfaction with nursing care of their children and nurses’ perceptions of parent satisfaction

• Main Author: Thornton, Nancy G.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/5591

The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine the degree of congruence between parents' satisfaction with nursing care and nurses' perceptions of parent satisfaction. The conceptual framework that guided this research was the enabling and empowering model of helping relationships by Dunst, Trivette, Davis, and Cornwell (1988). A convenience sample of twenty nurse-parent pairs was recruited from a 22-bed unit in a tertiary care pediatric hospital. Data were collected by means of a 25- item self-administered satisfaction with nursing care instrument and socio-demographic tools. Data were analyzed using descriptive and parametric statistics. The study results revealed statistically significant differences between parent and nurse perceptions. As a group, nurses estimated parents to be less satisfied with nursing care than parents themselves reported. However, when a pair-by-pair analysis was conducted, it showed a lack of congruence between parents' and nurses' perceptions in both directions. The conclusions support the need for nurses to explicitly ask the consumers of their services whether or not their expectations of nursing care are being met. Unless nurses ensure that the care they provide is consistent with what consumers want, consumers are unlikely to be satisfied. Recommendations are made for nursing practice, education, administration, and research. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Nursing, School of === Graduate