Nurses' perceptions and beliefs related to the care of adults living with multimorbidity: A systematic qualitative review

• Published in: Journal of clinical nursing 2022-10, Vol.31 (19-20), p.2716-2736
• Main Authors: Whitehead, Lisa, Palamara, Peter, Allen, Jacqueline, Boak, Jennifer, Quinn, Robyn, George, Cobie
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitudes; beliefs; Chronic illnesses; Comorbidity; Content analysis; Disease management; multimorbidity; Nurses; Nursing care; Patient-centered care; perceptions; person‐centred care; Qualitative research; qualitative review
• ISSN: 0962-1067; 1365-2702
• DOI: 10.1111/jocn.16146

Aims and objectives To identify and synthesise the available qualitative evidence on nurses’ perceptions and beliefs related to the care of adults living with multimorbidity. Background The rising prevalence of adults living with multimorbidity has increased demand for health care and challenges nursing care. No review has been conducted to date of the studies of nurses’ perceptions and beliefs related to the provision of care to guide policy makers, practitioners and further research to identify and deliver quality care for persons living with multimorbidity. Design Systematic review of qualitative studies conducted in line with the PRISMA checklist. Methodology Eight electronic publication databases and sources of grey literature were searched to identify original qualitative studies of the experience of nurses caring for adults with multiple chronic conditions with no restrictions on the date of publication or study context. Study quality was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. Data were extracted using the Joanna Briggs Institute standardised data extraction tool for qualitative research. Data synthesis was undertaken through meta‐aggregation. Results Eleven qualitative studies were included in the review. All studies met eight or more of the 10 assessment criteria of the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research. Four synthesised findings were generated from the aggregated findings: (i) the challenge of providing nursing care; (ii) the need to deliver holistic and person‐centred nursing care; (iii) the importance of developing a therapeutic nurse–patient relationship, and (iv) delivering nursing care as part of an interprofessional care team. Conclusions The complexity of multimorbidity and the predominant single‐disease model of chronic care present challenges for the delivery of nursing care to adults living with multimorbidity. Relevance to clinical practice The nursing care of persons with multimorbidity needs to incorporate holistic assessment and person‐centred care principles as part of a collaborative and interprofessional team approach. PROSPERO Registration CRD42020186773.