Aims and objectives
To systematically identify, appraise and synthesise patients’, residents’, and nurses’ experiences of
fundamental nursing care for nutrition, elimination, mobility, and hygiene.
Background
The evidence base for effective nursing behaviours to assist people with their fundamental care
needs is sparse, hampering ...
Aims and objectives
To systematically identify, appraise and synthesise patients’, residents’, and nurses’ experiences of
fundamental nursing care for nutrition, elimination, mobility, and hygiene.
Background
The evidence base for effective nursing behaviours to assist people with their fundamental care
needs is sparse, hampering the development of effective interventions. Synthesising data on
patients’ and nurses’ experiences of fundamentals of nursing care could contribute to the
development of such an intervention.
Methods
Systematic review and synthesis of qualitative data from qualitative studies on patients’ and nurses’
experiences of fundamental nursing care behaviours addressing peoples’ nutrition, elimination,
mobility, and hygiene needs. We appraised study quality and relevance and used a narrative
approach to data synthesis, fulfilling PRISMA criteria (Supplementary file 1).
Results
We identified 22,374 papers, 47 met our inclusion criteria. Most papers were of low quality. Sixteen
papers met our quality and relevance criteria and were included for synthesis. Papers were about
nutrition (2) elimination (2), mobility (5), hygiene (5) and multiple care areas (2). We found nurses
and patients report that fundamental nursing care practices involve strong leadership, collaborative
2
partnerships with patients and cohesive organisational practices aligned to nursing care objectives
and actions.
Conclusions.
To improve fundamental care and interventions suitable for testing may require attention to
leadership, patient-nurse relationships and organisational coherence plus the fundamentals of care
nursing interventions themselves.
Relevance to clinical practice.
More rigorous mixed methods research about fundamental nursing care is needed to inform nursing
practice and improve patient’s experience. Nursing interventions should include effective nurse
leadership and nurse patient collaboration and a focus on fundamental care by the host
organisation.