Objectives: To examine perceptions of nursing care for foreign patients in the ward and operating room (OR) and to clarify incidents and difficulties in nursing care.
Methods: Fifty-five obstetric and gynecological ward nurses and 13 OR nurses were contacted in writing and asked to participate in a self-administered questionnaire to clarify their perceptions of nursing care for foreign patients.
Results: The response rates for ward nurses and OR nurses were 65% (n=36) and 77% (n=10) respectively. One hundred percent of nurses with experience of foreign patient care stated that they had difficulties with language, cultural differences, the medical system, and financial problems. Incidents resulting from the nursing care included: not following instructions not to take food/drink, walking too soon, and missing their clinical follow-up appointment after discharge.
Conclusions: This research showed major difficulties with perioperative nursing care for foreign patients. These difficulties may have occurred as a result of issues such as language, differences in culture and the health care system. Difficulty with nursing care for foreign patients sometimes causes incidents. It is recommended that the barriers between non-Japanese patients and the medical staff are rectified in the perioperative period, when mutual understanding is important.