Challenges in Nursing Care of Morbidly Obese Patients: Nurses’ Viewpoints

Background: Parallel with the growing obesity problem in the world, the number of obese patients admitted to hospitals is soaring. With the hospitalization of the obese patients, healthcare team faces many challenges. Based on studies in many countries, most of the problems are related to inadequate equipment and space, shortage of nursing staff, high pressure on the staff for transferring patients, which causes physical damage. In this study, we examined problems related to the care of obese patients in Iran from the perspective of personnel in surgical wards and operating rooms. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015. Data were collected using a three-section researcher-made questionnaire completed by the staff. The first part collected demographic information, while the second part pertained to patient's problems and the challenges that the staff faced regarding equipment and clinical activities. The third part covered personnel’s opinion about priorities of care of obese patients. The collected data were analyzed by statistical tests in SPSS software, Chi-square test, fisher exact test and descriptive statistic. Results: Two hundred people participated (25% male and 75% female) in this study. Regarding the equipment, the biggest challenges for the personnel were related to the lifters and then the clothing and bed sheets. Concerning clinical activities, repositioning the patient (56.1%), transferring between the wards and clinics and changing clothes were the biggest challenges. The participants believe the priorities for obese patient care include employing more staff and supplying equipment. Conclusions: Taking the increasing number of obese patients in hospitals along with the importance of staff health, and providing appropriate patient care, it is necessary to provide the required equipment for obese patient care and to educate the staff for delivering high-quality care.