Negotiated and nonnegotiated nurse-patient interactions: enhancing perceptions of empowerment.

Ninety-eight students with upper respiratory symptoms participated in a study to determine differences in patient perceptions of two types of nurse-patient interactive styles. Subjects participated in either an actively negotiated process of decision making (n = 53) or a nonnegotiated approach (n = 45) with a nurse. Findings revealed that subjects in the negotiated group perceived significantly greater feelings of control and power in the nurse-patient relationship than did the nonnegotiated group. No significant correlations were found between motivation and patient perceptions of the interaction. Study results demonstrate that nurses can engage in an active negotiation process with patients and strongly influence feelings of control in decision making.