A qualitative assessment of the impact of a specialist nurse in outpatient urology consultations

Aim: This paper presents the results of a prospective study of outpatient urology consultations designed to provide evidence of the benefits of using a specialist nurse to improve quality of care. Methods: 135 patients (95 men and 40 women) were included in the study. Urinary disorders were defined using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The activity/participation component was studied from a communication perspective before and after the urology consultation. Scores were obtained using a visual analogue scale (VAS). The VAS was also used to assess the role of the nurse as a facilitator (environmental factors component). A statistical analysis was performed on the population, as was an analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the activity/participation component. Results: The participants were aged between 4 years 10 months and 96 years (m = 63.29; standard deviation (SD) = 19.71). The median score for the urological disorders was 2. An analysis of variance of the two questions relating to the activity/participation component indicated a significant difference between the two groups (F = 6.4172; p < 0.001). A third question was used to assess the environmental factors component (nurse as facilitator), with a mean VAS score of 97.79% (SD = 4.67). Conclusion: The purpose of this prospective study was to conduct a qualitative assessment of the impact of involving a specialist nurse in outpatient urology consultations. The study demonstrated that the qualitative impact of using a specialist nurse as a facilitator (environmental factors component) is extremely important for the participatory dimension of communication, particularly in terms of understanding medical information.