[An exploratory study of primary family caregivers' needs and factors in their interaction with home care nurses].

The purpose of this study was to explore the interaction needs of primary caregivers and related factors in patient home healthcare. The study used a cross-sectional design. All caregivers of patients receiving home nursing services for over one month from eight home care agencies in Kaohsiung city were eligible to participate. The sample consisted of 120 caregivers. A structured questionnaire of interaction needs was used in interviews with each of the participants in their homes. Based on the Interactional Model of Client Health Behavior (IMCHB) and related literature, a questionnaire was used that primary caregivers might require home care nurses to complete. The instrument had a satisfactory validity and reliability. Our findings were as follows: 1. According to caregivers' answers, the most important of the four criteria for measuring caregivers' service needs in their interaction with home care nurses was "professional attitude in caring, " followed by "providing help with decision-making and planning, " "emotional support, " and, finally, "caring abilities and information"; 2. We discovered four factors that were considered important regarding caregivers' home nursing service interaction needs. In order of importance, they were (1) patient's age, (2) the patient's disease must have been diagnosed by a physician, (3) the caregiver's self-perceived health status, and (4) there had to be an alternative home helper. In conclusion, home care nurses' professional attitude in caring was of the greatest concern to caregivers. Our study suggests that emotional support needs to be maintained and improved in home nursing practical services. We provide several recommendations as to how practices, research, and education can be changed or developed in order to enhance home nursing services.