Patients’ perception of nursing care humanization in a hemodialysis unit

Abstract

Objective: To analyze patients’ perception of the humanization of care in a hemodialysis unit. Material and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 in the hemodialysis unit of the University Hospital of Jaén. The PCHE questionnaire 3rd version was used (32 items, Likert scale 1-4), obtaining a score on the overall perception of humanized care and three scores corresponding to the dimensions: “Qualities of nursing care,” “Openness to communication for providing health education to the individual,” and “Prioritizing the subject of care”. Sex, age, and time on hemodialysis were also collected as variables. Descriptive analysis was performed, and the overall score and the scores of the three dimensions were compared with the sex variable (U-Mann-Whitney) and other variables (Rho-Spearman). Results: Thirty-eight questionnaires were analyzed, 57.9% male, mean age: 65.2±15.28 years, median time on hemodialysis: 42 (P25:8-P75:96) months. Cronbach’s alpha for the questionnaire was 0.919. 73.7% rated the overall perception of humanized care as “always,” and 5.3% as “never.” Percentages for “always” and “never” responses in each dimension were: “Communication” (63.2% vs. 5.3%), “Prioritizing the patient” (63.2% vs. 5.3%), and “Qualities of care” (84.2% vs. 5.3%). Patients with >1 year on hemodialysis had a lower total PCHE score (p=0.03), and we also found a correlation between “time on dialysis” and the “Qualities of care” dimension (Rho-Spearman:-0.346; p=0.039). Conclusions: The perception of humanized nursing care by hemodialysis patients has been high, identifying areas for improvement in communication and patient prioritization.