Nursing Behaviors That Make Patients Feel Cared for

Eight cancer patients, eight oncology nurses, and eight "others" were asked the following questions: "What should a nurse do to make a patient feel cared for?" and "What should a nurse be like to make a patient feel cared for?" A grounded theory approach was used to analyze and categorize responses. Interrater agreement regarding identified behaviors was acceptable, whereas agreement for categorizations was low. The final categorization included 174 behaviors organized under the following headings: social, communicative, organizational, medical-technical competence, and contact with relatives. The groups agreed fairly well on which behaviors make patients feel cared for. All groups mentioned behaviors representing the task-oriented, cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of caring, and members of all three groups mentioned behaviors specific for their own goup.