Nursing personnel and patients' perceptions of nursing functions contributing to patient comfort

The findings of this study led to several conclusions which have obvious significance for those concerned with patient care in this particular psychiatric unit. First, the supportive emotional care and the physical care categories of nursing functions were considered in that order to be the most important functions in terms of patient comfort. Throughout all the analytical procedures in the study there was evidence of emphasis on the physical care functions by the patients and even greater emphasis on the supportive emotional care aspects by the nursing personnel. It w/as the difference in these areas that resulted in the rejection of the second hypothesis formulated for testing in this study. Second, there was general agreement as to the extremely high relative value placed on liaison activities that involved direct communications in the nurse-patient-doctor relations and low relative value placed on all other liaison functions and on the functions concerned with patient education. Finally, the findings of this study indicate that research in the individual clinic setting and involving direct participation by the patients can be both valuable and possible.