Perception of caring behaviors and associated factors among nurses working in public hospitals of East Wollega Zone, Ethiopia, 2023. Mixed method study

Background The perception of nurse caring behaviors significantly impacts the patient's satisfaction, trust, and health care experiences. Good perception is associated with positive outcomes. Nursing research has examined nurse's perception of caring behaviors and research shows low perceptions of caring behaviors globally. In Ethiopia, limited research exists on nurses' perceptions of caring behaviors and related aspects of the nurses. However, further investigation including a mixed-methods study is needed to explore this topic and identify factors which affects nurse's perception of caring behaviors. Objective To assess nurses' perception toward caring behaviors and associated factors among nurses working in Public Hospitals of East Wallaga Zone, 2023. Methods A Facility-based Convergent mixed-method study was conducted from May 30 to July 30, 2023. Among Nurses in East Wollega Zone Public Hospitals, 394 study participants were selected by Simple random sampling technique for quantitative data and six (6) study participants were used for the qualitative data collection based on information saturation. Quantitative data was entered into Epi-data version 3.02 and analyzed by SPSS Version 25. In bi-variable analysis, candidate variables were selected for multivariable analysis model at a P < 0.25. In multi-variable logistic regression analysis, adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% CI was used to assess the association of independent variables on the perception of nurse toward nursing care behavior. A P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. For qualitative data, narrative thematic analysis was used. Result The percentage of good perception toward nurse caring behaviors was found to be 60.9% (95% CI: 55.7-65.85). Being single [AOR: 3.90, 95% CI (1.19-12.83)], work experience [AO: 0.43, 95% CI (0.19-0.97)], Professional Satisfaction [AOR: 3.3, 95% CI (1.96-5.84)], Having bad relationship with staff [AOR: 0.04, 95% CI, (1.21-3.45)], and Job satisfaction [AOR: 2.4, 95% CI (1.46-4.17)] were found to be significant factors associated with nurses perception toward nurse caring behaviors in the study setting. Conclusion and recommendation Findings of this study revealed that the perception of good caring behaviors among nurses was found to be low relative to literature. Therefore, Hospital management, Nurse Directors and Health bureaus need to create harmonized work relations and to motivate nurses need to pay attention to quality nurse care and improve perception of nurses on caring behaviors.