The Meanings of Hands among Clinical Nurses in a Tertiary Hospital / 중환자간호학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the meanings of hands among clinical nurses.METHODS: A descriptive qualitative study design was used. Participants were 1,048 nurses working in a tertiary hospital in G city. From April to May 2018, an open-ended survey on how nurses felt about their hands and what their hands meant to them was conducted. The collected data were analyzed using MAXQDA 2018 version as well as content analysis.RESULTS: A total of 1,048 pieces of data were analyzed, and 2,094 units of analysis were categorized based on their attributes, resulting in physical, emotional, and social domains. The data in the social domain were reported in a narrative format; thus, they were analyzed using content analysis. Three themes and eight sub-themes were elicited. The three themes included “meaning as an instrument,” “meaning of infection control,” and “meaning of caring.”CONCLUSION: Nurses imbue essential meanings of caring on their hands even though they face negative skin symptoms. Furthermore, nurses understand the importance of hand hygiene on infection control. The findings of this study provide an in-depth look into nurses' perceptions of their hands.