RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Nurse-patient collaboration; a grounded theory study in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on non-invasive ventilation JF European Respiratory Journal JO Eur Respir J FD European Respiratory Society SP 1852 VO 40 IS Suppl 56 A1 Dorthe Sørensen A1 Kirsten Frederiksen A1 Thorbjørn Grøfte A1 Kirsten Lomborg YR 2012 UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/Suppl_56/1852.abstract AB Objectives: This paper provides a theoretical account of nurses' collaborations with patients' with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease during non-invasive ventilation treatment at the hospital.Background: Despite strong evidence for the effect of non-invasive ventilation treatment, success remains a huge challenge. Nurse and patient collaboration may be vital for treatment tolerance and success. A better understanding of how nurses and patients collaborate during non-invasive ventilation may therefore contribute to improvement.Design: A constant comparative classical grounded theory.Method: The data comprised sessions of qualitative participant observation during the treatment of 21 patients with non-invasive ventilation, which included unstructured conversations with the nurses and semi-structured interviews with 11 patients after treatment completion. Data were collected at three Danish hospitals.Results: Definition of the situation emerged as the core category in nurse-patient collaborations during non-invasive ventilation treatment. The main concern was resolved by activating of one or more of the following four complex adjusted modalities: (1) joint modality; (2) patient-initiated modality; (3) nurse-initiated modality; or (4) split modality. Modalities 1–3 were characterised by mutual definitions of the situation, whereas the fourth was characterised by divergent definitions of the situation.Conclusions: This study offers a robust account of nurses' and patients' concerns about their definition of the situation and how they activate different complex adaptive modalities. We offer a theoretical basis for developing complex interventions.