Satisfaction of nursing care among the patients hospitalized at the Oncology Unit, Teaching Hospital Batticaloa

Abstract

Cancer is a disease characterized by the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. This person may undergo various treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy or immunotherapy to manage or eradicate the disease and improve their quality of life. Cancer patients require comprehensive nursing care, including pain management, Symptom control, emotional support, nutrition guidance and assistance with daily activities .Nurses also provide education about treatment options and side effects, coordinate care among health care providers and often support to both patients and their families. Cancer patients need more attention on physical and psychosocial needs. Since cancer patients have more bio psychosocial needs than the other patients, they require specified nursing care. The objective of the study is to describe the satisfaction of nursing care among the patients hospitalized at the oncology unit in Teaching Hospital Batticaloa (THB). A Descriptive Cross-sectional study was conducted in oncology patients at oncology unit, Teaching Hospital Batticaloa. A total number of 115 patients were recruited to the study by simple random sampling method. Study was conducted from August 2023 to August 2024. Data collection was carried out by using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Statistical Package of Social Science 26 (SPSS V.26) was used to enter, analyze and interpret the data. Level of satisfaction on general nursing care and physical nursing care was good. Majority of patient satisfaction on psychosocial care was average (81.7%), regarding psychosocial and spiritual care, 10.4% poor satisfaction and 7.8% was good satisfaction. Among socio demographic factors, age, living place, gender, marital status, education, occupation, monthly income, ethnicity was not significantly associated with satisfaction on general nursing care. Among disease related factors, duration of stay (p=0.008), occurrence of admission (p=0.032), level of support needed for daily activities (p=0.029) were significantly associated with satisfaction on general nursing care. Among therapy related factors, type of therapy (surgery) (p=0.049), duration of chemotherapy (p=0.047) were significantly associated with satisfaction on general nursing care. Among socio demographic factors, age, living place, gender, marital status, education, occupation, monthly income, ethnicity were not significantly associated with satisfaction on physical nursing care. Among disease related factors, type of cancer (p=0.014) was significantly associated with physical nursing care. Among therapy related factors, type of therapy (chemotherapy) (p=0.045), duration of surgery (p=0.012) were significantly associated with physical nursing care .And also among socio demographic factors, disease related factors, therapy related factors, there is no significant association with the level of satisfaction on psychosocial and spiritual care. Further this research study showed that the areas of improvement are expected by the patients, these include: Friendliness, Empathy, Meeting psychosocial needs, treating patients as individuals, Respecting beliefs and values, Communication of medical information, Checking progress regularly and Technical skills. Addressing these areas for improvement could enhance patient satisfaction, improve outcomes, and ensure a more patient-centered approach to nursing care. These findings can guide healthcare providers in developing targeted interventions to meet patient expectations and improve overall quality of care delivery. This study explored the level of satisfaction of nursing care among the patients hospitalized at the oncology unit, Teaching Hospital Batticaloa and factors associated with it. Further, the results revealed that all most all the patients were satisfied with general nursing care and physical nursing care. Some of the patients were satisfied on psychosocial and spiritual care. Therefore, it is essential to pay special attention to the level of satisfaction of nursing care among the patients. Necessary interventions to be taken to screen, monitor and educate to maintain optimum level of satisfaction will be beneficial to the patients and the nurses.