Nilsing Strid E1,2, Andersson G3, Ohlsson Nevo E1,3
1University Health Care Research Center, Region of Örebro County, Örebro, Sweden, 2Örebro University, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Örebro, Sweden, 3Örebro University, School of Health Sciences, Örebro, Sweden
Background: Patients enrolled in hospital wards spend time in bed even though it is not medically indicated. This inactivity has consequences for the patients' recovery and may lead to deconditioning and functional decline. Nurses as frontline personnel are important due to their close contact with patients during their stay at the ward but there are few studies on how nurses promote inpatients need for physical activity.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe nurses' perceptions and strategies for promoting inpatients' physical activity.
Methods: This study has a descriptive design using data from semi-structured focus group discussions (FGD) with registered nurses (RNs) and certified nursing assistants (CNAs). A purposeful sampling was used. In total, we included four surgical and three medical wards from three different hospitals in a county in central Sweden. Seven FGD were conducted with two RNs and two CNAs from the same ward in each group. Data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis and an approach for inductive category development was used. An interaction analysis was also performed. The study was approved by a Regional ethical board.
Results: The analysis of the FGD revealed two main categories of the nurses' experiences: Adapting inpatients' physical activity to the circumstances at the ward and Striving for a mutual understanding of inpatients' physical activity. The nurses described awareness of the importance of physical activity but to what extent physical activity was integrated in their daily work with patients was hampered by factors in the work system, including organization (culture), physical environment, work tasks, devices and the person (the nurses' knowledge and work culture). The second category: Striving for a mutual understanding of inpatients' physical activity, included to be able to meet and handle the expectations of patients and to take a joint responsibility for promoting physical activity.
Conclusion(s): This study shows that nurses perceive physical activity as everybody's' concern but face challenges in the work system such as routines and cultures, and as a consequence nurses adapt inpatients' physical activity to the circumstances at the ward and not according to the patients' needs.
Implications: To promote inpatients physical activity in hospital settings we need a more stimulated physical environment and we need to incorporate all healthcare workers, especially the frontline personnel, i.e. the nurses, as they may act as gatekeeper. These findings highlight the importance of physiotherapists to teamwork with nurses, other healthcare workers and managers to create a culture where physical activity is prioritized and promoted according to the inpatients´ needs.
Keywords: Inpatients, Physical activity, Nurses
Funding acknowledgements: The work was unfunded.
Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe nurses' perceptions and strategies for promoting inpatients' physical activity.
Methods: This study has a descriptive design using data from semi-structured focus group discussions (FGD) with registered nurses (RNs) and certified nursing assistants (CNAs). A purposeful sampling was used. In total, we included four surgical and three medical wards from three different hospitals in a county in central Sweden. Seven FGD were conducted with two RNs and two CNAs from the same ward in each group. Data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis and an approach for inductive category development was used. An interaction analysis was also performed. The study was approved by a Regional ethical board.
Results: The analysis of the FGD revealed two main categories of the nurses' experiences: Adapting inpatients' physical activity to the circumstances at the ward and Striving for a mutual understanding of inpatients' physical activity. The nurses described awareness of the importance of physical activity but to what extent physical activity was integrated in their daily work with patients was hampered by factors in the work system, including organization (culture), physical environment, work tasks, devices and the person (the nurses' knowledge and work culture). The second category: Striving for a mutual understanding of inpatients' physical activity, included to be able to meet and handle the expectations of patients and to take a joint responsibility for promoting physical activity.
Conclusion(s): This study shows that nurses perceive physical activity as everybody's' concern but face challenges in the work system such as routines and cultures, and as a consequence nurses adapt inpatients' physical activity to the circumstances at the ward and not according to the patients' needs.
Implications: To promote inpatients physical activity in hospital settings we need a more stimulated physical environment and we need to incorporate all healthcare workers, especially the frontline personnel, i.e. the nurses, as they may act as gatekeeper. These findings highlight the importance of physiotherapists to teamwork with nurses, other healthcare workers and managers to create a culture where physical activity is prioritized and promoted according to the inpatients´ needs.
Keywords: Inpatients, Physical activity, Nurses
Funding acknowledgements: The work was unfunded.
Topic: Critical care
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: University Health Care Research Center, Region Örebro County, Sweden
Ethics committee: The regional ethical board of Uppsala, Sweden
Ethics number: 2016/212
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
