Background. Hypertension accounts for a third of the global preventable premature deaths. In Sub-Saharan Africa, hypertension is\nthe most rapidly increasing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the second leading cause of death. Proper management of hypertension\nrequires adherence to management by patients and this is partly possible if patients feel satisfied with the nursing care\nthey receive. Satisfaction with nursing care is only possible if there is a congruence between the expectations of care and the actual\ncare received from nurses. Aim. We explored the expectations and satisfaction of Ghanaian hypertensives with nursing care\nreceived at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH). Methods. In this qualitative study, a phenomenological approach was used to\ngather data about the lived experiences of patients with hypertension about nursing care. In-depth interviews (IDIs) were\nconducted among sixteen (16) patients with hypertension from the hypertensive Out-Patient Department (OPD) Clinics of the\nMedical Department at the KBTH. Only patients with history of previous admission(s) at the KBTH during the immediate past six\nmonths were purposively recruited. The respondents were interviewed about the nursing care received during their immediate\npast admission(s) at the KBTH using an IDI-guide. The IDIs were recorded digitally, transcribed verbatim, and reviewed severally\nand thematic analysis was done. Nvivo 11 software was used to manage the data and aid with the thematic analysis. Results. The\nresults of this study showed that Ghanaian hypertensive patients perceived nurses as key players in the management of patients.\nOn the respondentsâ?? expectations from nurses prior to their immediate past admissions at the KBTH, the data revealed the\nresponsiveness of nurses to patient needs, prompt pain management, high confidentiality level of nurses, rendering of efficient\nhealth education, maintenance of therapeutic work environment, and ensuring effective communication as well as professional/\nethical practice from the nurses. On the question of what made nursing care satisfying, it was observed from the respondents that\nthey considered the competence of nurses, maintenance of therapeutic environment, and also effective handling of confidential\ninformation as determinants of their satisfaction with nursing care. Further, the respondents identified some key areas of\ndissatisfaction and these included the responsiveness of nurses to patient needs, prompt pain management, effectiveness of health\neducation, and provision of culturally sensitive communication. Disproportionate distribution of nursing staff across the three\nnursing shifts, unethical practice among some nurses, inadequate resources for work, and low work morale of some nurses were\nidentified as factors responsible for the gaps between patient expectations and actual care received. Conclusion. Our study\nconcludes that continuous professional development programs for nurses should focus on the areas of dissatisfaction so as to\nimprove care for hypertensives. We also recommend that nursing staff distribution across the various shifts should be of keen\ninterest to nurse managers if hypertension care in particular and overall patient care in general are to improve.
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