Comparing nurses and patients views on the quality of the provided nursing care in surgical departments of public hospitals in the island of Crete

Nurses' views on the provided nursing care and patients' satisfaction constitute important evaluation criteria of its quality and contribute its improvement. Aim: The aim of the present study is to explore and compare nurses' and patients' views regarding the quality of care provided in surgical departments of Cretan public hospitals. Methods and Material: A correlational descriptive study design was used. The study questionnaire was completed by 270 surgical patients and 140 registered and assistant nurses working in surgical departments of public hospitals in Crete. Purposive non-random sampling was used through an anonymous self-reference questionnaire. Data analysis included statistical package SPSS 17. Results: Patients and nurses appeared to share similar views on the effectiveness of hospital care and the level of satisfaction regarding the nursing care provided in Cretan hospitals. Two hundred and seventy patients 270 participated in the study. Most of them 95.3% declared satisfied from nurses' capacity to provide care, while 97.7% and 98.1% were satisfied from staff manner and continuity of care, respectively. Patients referred also to lack of information regarding patient education during hospitalisation 67.7% and lack of information giving to family members and significant others 70.1%. Out of the 140 nurses and nurse assistants who participated in the study, 98.5% and 94.9% were satisfied from continuity of care and staff manner, respectively. Furthermore, 66.7% and 85.3% stated satisfied from meeting patients' personal needs and information giving to family and significant others. Finally, 64.6% were dissatisfied with the food quantity, while 73.6% were appeared unhappy with food quality. Conclusion: The provided nursing care has been considered satisfactory by nurses and patients. Issues such as information giving and hospital facilities are regarded as less satisfactory and require further improvement. Keywords: Nursing care, quality evaluation, information giving, patients' satisfaction. Methods and Material: A correlational descriptive study design was used. The study questionnaire was completed by 270 surgical patients and 140 registered and assistant nurses working in surgical departments of public hospitals in Crete. Purposive non-random sampling was used through an anonymous self-reference questionnaire. Data analysis included statistical package SPSS 17. Results: Patients and nurses appeared to share similar views on the quality of services Conclusion: The provided nursing care has been considered satisfactory by nurses and patients. Issues such as information giving and hospital facilities are regarded as less satisfactory and require further improvement.

Keywords: Nursing care, quality evaluation, information giving, patients satisfaction