Perceptions of quality of care in oncological outpatient settings: a qualitative study of healthcare professionals.

OBJECTIVES

To explore and describe how healthcare professionals within the oncological outpatient setting perceive quality of care.

DESIGN

A qualitative, descriptive design with a phenomenographic approach was used, with focus group discussions as the means of data collection.

SETTING

Primary care in oncological outpatient units in four hospitals in Sweden.

PARTICIPANTS

Through purposive sampling, 20 healthcare professionals entered and completed the study by participating in four focus groups, five participants in each group. Inclusion criteria were assistant nurses, nurses or physicians delivering treatment and care with radiation and/or anticancer drugs in oncological outpatient units. Excluded were healthcare professionals who had worked less than 3 months at the oncological outpatient unit.

RESULTS

Two descriptive categories emerged from the data: 'The professional's personal ability for good care' and 'The structural conditions for good care'. These categories consist of descriptions of quality of care being perceived as a good meeting with patients, patient participation, continuity, accessibility and care grounded in science.

CONCLUSIONS

According to the healthcare professionals, quality of care relies on organisational structures in combination with a professional and personal interaction between the patients and the healthcare professionals. Knowledge about what healthcare professionals believe constitutes quality of care should therefore be highly valuable to policymakers and hospital management.