Aesthetics in Nursing Practice as Experienced by Nepalese Nurses and Patients with Cancer

Abstract

Nursing practice is mutually experienced by the nurse and the person being nursed (the patient). However, not much is known about the meanings that these mutual experiences may have, therefore, hermeneutic phenomenology underpinned by Gadamerian philosophy was used to describe the meanings of aesthetics in nursing practice by Nepalese nurses and patients with cancer. Sixteen Nepalese nurses and 11 patients met the inclusion criteria. Data consisted of graphic illustrations followed by in-depth interviews. The transcriptions and graphic illustrations were analyzed and interpreted using van Manen's phenomenological approach. Trustworthiness was established following Lincoln and Guba's criteria. The findings involving nurses as study participants revealed five major thematic categories reflecting the five lived worlds of lived self-others, the 'mutual understanding of the whole suffering', lived body, declaring the 'sense of accomplishment', lived space is the 'creation of close space of caring-healing', while lived time is 'transforming into brighter living' and lived things are the ways of 'utilization of resources for appropriate care'. Similarly, the findings from the patient participants revealed five thematic categories - lived self- others 'appreciation of gentle caring as family', lived body 'having a new life', lived space in the midst of clean and friendly space', lived time 'hopeful moment to moment' and lived things ‘acknowledging medicines as necessity for comfort'. The understandings of the meanings of aesthetics in nursing practice by nurses and patients would help nurses to engage in appropriate nursing care practice, and more importantly, benefit from the patients experiences as these are lived. With these understandings, nursing can be practiced as mutual engagement, thereby promoting knowledge-based practice. The knowledge obtained from this study will further inform nursing practice, nursing research and nursing education, thereby promoting and enhancing the appreciation of aesthetics in nursing as grounded in disciplinary knowledge for professional practice.