A Phenomenological Study of Aesthetic Nursing Care as Experienced by Patients during Hospitalization

Abstract

As an art and a science, nursing care should be practiced in aesthetic ways. Knowledge of aesthetics derived from the experiences of nurses and patients is important to inform current and future nursing practice. However, there is a lack of research regarding how aesthetic nursing care is experienced by patients during hospitalization. This study aimed to describe the meanings of aesthetic nursing care as experienced by patients in Indonesia. Qualitative research using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used. Twelve Indonesian patients were asked to reflect on their experiences of receiving aesthetic nursing care through drawing and were followed by individual interviews. The drawings and interview transcriptions were analyzed based on van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Trustworthiness of the study was established. Kongsuwan’s Theory of Aesthetic Nursing Practice enhanced the understanding of the findings. Five themes were revealed: 1) caring with being fully present; 2) the empathic hospitable communication; 3) the comforting caring space; 4) the nuances of caring; 5) the special caring moment. Findings showed that aesthetic nursing care was experienced by patients through the wholeness of nursing care, which is perceived as aesthetic actions by patients. From these findings, a model of aesthetic actions was proposed to assist nurses in implementing aesthetic nursing practice, which might be more clinically relevant for the patients.