Introduction: The nursing profession is mainly based on the quality of care. Different approaches to provide nursing care in nursing management can affect the quality of service. This study aimed to compare the effect of “Primary Nursing” and “Case Method” on patients' quality of physical care.
Methods: This study is quasi-experimental study that was performed in two Critical Care Units (CCU) of the Ghaem Hospital and two CCU of Imam Reza Hospital in Mashhad. 59 patients (33 patients in the “Primary Nursing” group and 26 patients in the “Case Method” group) were studied. Data was collected using “Quality of Patient Care” (QUALPAC). The content and face validity was confirmed by 10 members of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery in Mashhad University. Furthermore, the reliability was achieved by Cronbach's alpha. In this study, both “Primary Nursing” and “Case Method” approaches were implemented in CCU and their impacts on patients’ quality of care was evaluated. Data were analyzed using SPSS/16.
Results: The mean of patient quality of physical care in “Primary Nursing” group (5.2 ± 44.4) was significantly higher than the one in the “Case Method” (6.5 ± 29.8) (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: The patient quality of physical care in the division of labor "Primary Nursing" is higher than "Case Method". Therefore, the "Primary Nursing" is recommended.