Perceptions of Persons Who Inject Drugs About Nursing Care They Have Received

The experience and meaning attributed to care by nurses and received by nine persons who inject drugs during a healthcare encounter in the acute care medical setting was examined. A descriptive case study approach using an interpersonal nursing model served as the theoretic framework. Four overarching themes were discovered: marginalization, defensiveness, repeated victimization, and understanding addiction. Findings suggest that role support, application of an interpersonal nursing theory, and implementations of addiction-trained healthcare teams were missing from the hospital experience of persons who inject drugs. However, when the nurse connected with the patient who injects drugs on an interpersonal level, positive outcomes followed.