Patients' Perceptions of the Role of Nursing in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs: Qualitative Study.
Clara Lucas Guerra, Marina Gómez de Quero Córdoba, Bruno García Tardón and 2 others
PMID 41915910WHAT IT FOUND
Patients in substance use rehabilitation valued nurses for listening, emotional support, and trust.
They often did not recognize nurses' technical tasks and confused nurses with doctors or social workers.
Key findings
01Patients highlighted emotional support and empathetic listening from nurses as the care that meant the most to them.
02In the interviews, patients mixed up nurses' roles with doctors' or other professionals' roles.
03Patients perceived nursing care positively overall but lacked awareness of technical nursing functions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was small: 15 participants were interviewed, and 14 completed the interview. Most participants were male, with 14 men and 1 woman, so women's experiences are underrepresented. The study included only 2 Red Cross centers in Madrid, Spain, so perceptions may not apply to other addiction services. The study did not distinguish between different types of nursing care or nurses' experience. The study reported perceptions, not clinical outcomes such as substance use, retention, or relapse.
Declared interests
The authors declared no financial support and no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that nurses' listening and emotional support improve substance use outcomes. This was a small qualitative study of patient perceptions, not a treatment trial.