Ann Nurs Primary Care | Volume 5, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access
Lydia Aziato1 , Gloria Achempim-Ansong2 and Benjamin Twiri Ampah3*
1School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Ghana 2Department of Adult Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Ghana 3Department of Nursing, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Central University, Ghana
*Correspondance to: Benjamin Twiri Ampah
Fulltext PDFBackground: Nurses encounter several challenges in managing patients with spinal cord injury. However, little is known about this area of nursing care in Ghana. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of nurses managing patients with spinal cord injury at a Teaching Hospital in Ghana. Methods: An exploratory descriptive qualitative design was employed for this study. A purposive sampling method was used to recruit sixteen (16) nurses who were eligible for the study. Respondents were interviewed face-to-face using a semi structured interview guide designed based on the research objectives and their accounts audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using thematic and content analysis. Findings: The study revealed that the experiences of nurses’ span from physical injury to body aches and pains, limited logistic, verbal abuse and emotional stress. Participants also lamented about not having a social life at all because they spend all their time caring for their patients at the ward and sometimes to the detriment of their family responsibilities. Again, the study revealed that nurses employ coping strategies such as obtaining patient and family cooperation, teamwork, and maintaining good health practices in adjusting to the stressors of the care. Conclusion: The results of the study show that nurses encounter a lot of challenges in their line of duty, especially in caring for patients with spinal cord injuries. However, in spite of the negative experiences expressed by nurses, a number of them had deep and emotional attachment to their job and their patients and are not easily distracted by their bad experiences.
Experiences; Nurses; Spinal cord injury; Nursing management; Workload
Aziato L, Achempim-Ansong G, Ampah BT. Experiences of Nurses Managing Patients with Spinal Cord Injury at a Teaching Hospital in Ghana. Ann Nurs Primary Care. 2023; 4(1): 1025..