title: Patients' experiences of a nurse-led rheumatology clinic in Sweden: a qualitative study.
abstract: In this study, patients' experiences of a nurse-led rheumatology clinic for those undergoing biological therapy are discussed. The study had an explorative design, based on a qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. Strategic sampling was used in order to achieve variations in experiences of a nurse-led clinic. Interviews were conducted with 20 participants, and the analysis resulted in the theme "the nurse-led rheumatology clinic provided added value to patient care". The participants' experiences of the encounter with the nurse led to a sense of security (due to competence and accessibility), familiarity (due to confirmation and sensitivity), and participation (due to exchange of information and involvement). Replacing every second visit to a rheumatologist with one to a nurse added value to the rheumatology care, making it more complete. Nurses and rheumatologists complemented each other, as they approached patients from different perspectives. This study suggests that a nurse-led rheumatology clinic adds value to the quality of care for patients in rheumatology units.
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden. ingrid.larsson@spenshult.se
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Larsson
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bergman
authors.forename: Bengt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fridlund
authors.forename: Barbro
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Arvidsson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000451:nursing*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001688:Biological Products / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000451:nursing; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012219:Rheumatology / Q000379:methods; D013548:Sweden
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products