Lived experiences of nurses in dealing with autism spectrum disorder patients in selected hospitals in Iloilo City

Abstract

This descriptive phenomenological study utilized an exploratory-descriptive approach. The study was conducted to explore and describe the lived experiences of nurses dealing with autism spectrum disorder patients in selected hospitals in Iloilo City. Eight participants were chosen using purposive sampling as data saturation had been reached. They were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data were gathered through unstructured face-to-face conversational interviews and lasted up to 30 minutes for each participant among the selected hospitals in Iloilo City. Informed consent was signed and kept confidential. The data were analyzed using Thematic Analysis by Braun and Clark (2013, 2006). Major themes and subthemes were formulated, focusing on communication patterns, the individualized patient approach of nurses, family dynamics, roles, and involvement in care, and key takeaways of nurses in dealing with autism spectrum disorder patients. They expressed communication problems and strategies to adapt to them, demonstrating empathy and rapport and their ways of managing the behavior of these patients, understanding the dynamics of the family of the patient to plan and decide the best quality of care to be given, and sharing key takeaways from their experiences and effective strategies on how to handle patients with autism, emphasizing that having a lot of patience and doubling their understanding was very vital when dealing with these patients. This study provided a better understanding of how nurses can provide care to ASD patients as they exhibited traits like assertiveness, compassion, determination, and continuous education.