Patient Perceptions on Primary Health Care (PHC) Nurses and Its Impact on Services Delivery at County Level, Machakos, Kenya

Background: Patient perceptions on services delivered by nurses are crucial when assessing the quality of health services. These are most attributable to their knowledge, competent skills and other personal characteristics. These can be described in how effective they handle clients when performing their nursing duties and their effectiveness including their ability to utilize a variety of communication skills and their attitudes at their regular work place. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional and qualitative study. Four public hospitals were randomly selected; Kathiani, Mwala sub-county hospital, Kangundo sub-district and Machakos county referral hospital. A systematic sampling was used for participant selection. A maximum of 12 and a minimum of 8 patients constituted a focus group for discussion (FGD) making a sample size of eighty (80) with eight (8) groups (four male and four female groups). The FGDs were conducted using standard guidelines by the researcher helped by a trained research assistant recording the proceedings with audio equipment. Participants aged 18-65 years and emancipated children were included. Data were analyzed using Atlas. ti 7 software. Results and Conclusion: (1) knowledge and competent skills of nurses, (2) personal characteristics, (3) other nurse’s behaviors are key when to effectively perform nursing duties. Participants acknowledged that nurses have the same knowledge because they can be transferred from health centers to at hospital level. Other participants added that patients need nurses who can perform their work with confidence. Personal characteristics like positive attitude, good mood, smile and willingness to provide medical information were also discussed by participants as very important when nurses have to deliver quality health care services. Lastly, other nurse behaviors like respect, honesty, confidentiality and compassion are as well other crucial characteristics on the top of knowledge which were emphasized by participants. All discussed characteristics should link together if nurses have to deliver quality health care. Nursing schools should review their curriculum to include the characteristics mentioned and introduce mentorship programs where the emphasis should be placed on the same.