A comparative descriptive analysis of perceived quality of caring attitudes and behaviours between haemodialysis patients and their nurses.

Aim: Despite its importance in nursing, perceived quality of the nurse-patient relationship has seldom been researched. This study sought to examine and compare the quality of caring attitudes and behaviours as perceived by haemodialysis patients and their nurses.

Design: This comparative descriptive study involved 140 haemodialysis patients and 101 nurses caring for them in ten haemodialysis units in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

Methods: Participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Caring Nurse-Patient Interaction Scale (CNPI-70).

Results: Both nurses and patients reported a high frequency of caring attitudes and behaviours. Patients gave higher ratings than nurses did on all the caring dimensions, except spirituality. Implications are discussed.