Background: Patients enrolled in wards at hospitals spend time in bed even if rest is not medically indicated. The inactivity in the hospital reduces muscle strength and can create a need for assistants that did not exist before or justified by the treated condition. Early and progressive mobilization is a key factor to maintain physical functioning during the care period in hospital. Despite the knowledge of the importance of physical activity, patients are not sufficiently mobilized. Reasons why patients are not mobilized are related to organizational factors as well as patient and nurse personal characteristics. With an understanding of nurses’ experiences, interventions to enhance patients’ physical activity can be develop aiming at reducing the risk of physical deterioration due to inactivity.
Objective: The aim of the study was to describe how nurses perceive hospitalized patients’ needs for progressed physical activity during their stay at the wards.
Method: A total of seven focus group discussions were conducted in seven wards at three different hospitals in Sweden. A total of 16 nurses and 14 nurse assistants participated. The analysis was conducted in two steps; First an interaction analysis of the communication and respond pattern in the focus groups and thereafter a content analysis of the transcribed text.
Results: The analysis is in progress and the results will be presented at the conference.