Registered nurses’ experience of relatives’ participation in the care of the patient in a hospital in Viet Nam : An empirical study

Sammanfattning: Introduction: In the nurses’ profession, interacting with relatives is a part in her/his daily work. Previous research has shown that nurses can experience relatives as a valuable asset in providing information, but it has also shown that there can be an ambiguity among nurses about relatives’ participation. In Viet Nam, the nurses’ experiences about relatives' participation has not yet been explored. Aim: The aim with this study was to explore registered nurses’ experiences of the relative´s participation in the care of patients at a hospital in Viet Nam. Method: A qualitative design was conducted. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with nine registered nurses. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. Result: The analysis of the nurses’ experiences resulted in three categories; Relatives' role in care, Relatives’ knowledge and Relatives’ presence at the workplace. Conclusion: This study presented registered nurses' experiences on the importance of relatives being a part of the care regarding providing information and relieving workload. This study also showed that the participation of the relatives can bring risks for the work environment and patients.