Quality of life and nurse-patient interaction among NH residents: Loneliness is detrimental, while nurse-patient interaction is fundamental

Aims and Objectives: To investigate the association between perceived nurse-patient interaction and quality-of-life among nursing home residents, adjusted for loneliness, anxiety and depression.Background: Symptoms of anxiety and depression are known to residents of nursing homes along with cognitive impairment, physical inactivity and low quality-of-life. Anxiety, depression and loneliness are found detrimental to NH residents' quality-of-life. The nurse-patient relationship is important for patient's well-being, both in terms of illness and symptom management.Design: Cross-sectional design.Methods: Data were collected in 2017 and 2018 from 188 residents in 27 nursing homes resided in two large urban municipalities in Middle and Western Norway. The inclusion criteria were: (1) local authority's decision of long-term NH care; (2) residential stay 3 months or longer; (3) informed consent competency recognised by responsible doctor and nurse; (4) capable of being interviewed, and (5) aged 65 years or older. This article is executed in accordance with STROBE statement.Results: Adjusting for age, sex, anxiety, depression and loneliness, perceived nurse-patient interaction was statistically significant to quality-of-life. While anxiety and depression showed insignificant estimates, loneliness demonstrated a significant relation with quality-of-life. Nurse-patient interaction and loneliness explained together 25% of the variation in quality-of-life.Conclusion: This study suggests that loneliness is frequent as well as more detrimental to quality-of-life among nursing home residents compared to anxiety and depression. Furthermore, the present results show that the nurse-patient interaction represents an essential health-promoting resource for Quality-of-life in this population.Relevance to clinical practice: Staff nurses need to exercise their awareness of loneliness to meet residents' needs. Nursing educations should provide knowledge about nurse-patient interaction, and students as well as staff nurses in NHs should be trained, for instance by simulation, to use the nurse-patient interaction as a health-promoting resource. Finally, loneliness represents a bigger challenge than depression and anxiety; accordingly, building nurses that are capable of meeting patients' needs and facilitate care that counteracts loneliness is highly warranted

Automated summary

The study aimed to investigate the association between perceived nurse-patient interaction and quality-of-life among nursing home residents, adjusted for loneliness, anxiety and depression. The results showed that nurse-patient interaction had a significant impact on quality-of-life, while anxiety and depression did not. Loneliness was found to be significantly related to quality-of-life. Loneliness and nurse-patient interaction together explained 25% of the variation in quality-of-life.