The image of the nursing profession as perceived by the community members of three adjacent residential areas of Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

The study was undertaken out of concern that nurses and the nursing profession project a negative image to the public they serve. Diverse aspects of nursing examined in this study included standards or quality of nursing care and its influence on encouraging clients to utilise health care services, communication, attitudes, expertise, availability at all times and patients’/clients’ participation in decision-making.
Nurses are part of the communities they serve. The rationale for the study was that nurses should be alert to perceptions of the communities about the service they provide, whether expressed formally or informally. Survival of nursing as a profession is dependent upon the positive impact it has on consumers in the past, present and the future.
The aim of the study was to discover, through a systematic, scientific inquiry, the positive and negative perceptions that communities have about nursing. An exploratory, descriptive study was done in KwaZulu-Natal on a sample of 50 participants from three adjacent historically Black residential areas (townships) using questionnaires. Findings of the study were contrary to the assumption that nursing has a negative image. All aspects except one were rated very good or good by the majority of the participants. Those who had negative perceptions, though in the minority, highlighted important reasons directed at both the authorities and the nurses. These were used as a basis for recommendations for further improvement of the image of nursing. The area of gross dissatisfaction among the majority was feeling unsafe with nurses getting increasingly involved in unionism, which would lead to abandonment of patients in times of industrial action.