In the second step the focus lays on the text, which was
divided into meaning units. A meaning unit can be one or
several words, sentences, or paragraphs that are related to one
another through aspects relevant to the aim of the study with
regard to content or context [36, 37] (Table 1). In step three,
the meaning units were condensed, and in the fourth step
the condensed meaning units were compared, discussed, and
labeled with codes. In the fifth step, the codes were abstracted,
compared, and sorted into subcategories. Ten categories were
created from the similarities and differences seen between the
subcategories in step six. In step seven, ten categories were
formulated into two main categories: challenging and collaborative
nurse-patient relationship and promoting well-being
thorough nursing interventions (Table 2). In the last phase
of the analyzing process, the latent theme was created from
a deeper interpretation of the underlying meaning of the
subcategories and categories and formulated as follows:
promoting person-centered nursing to inpatients suffering
from self-harm.
4. Results
The results of the manifest content analysis can be described
with two main categories: (1) challenging and collaborative
nurse-patient relationship and (2) promoting well-being
through nursing interventions (see Table 2).
4.1. Challenging and Collaborative Nurse-Patient Relationship.
The first main category contained four subcategories: caring
attitude toward the patient, bearing hope for recovery, being
in a reflective dialogue to promote the patient’s verbal expressions,
and being emotionally affected by self-harm patients.
4.1.1. Caring Attitude toward the Patient. The participants
wanted to understand and see the person behind “the suffering
human being” who has been mentally harmed previously
in life and who because of this is vulnerable in relationships
with other people. In order to be able to help the patient and
ensure that patient follow-up does not become incidental it is
necessary to understand and know the patient as a person: