Integrating Healthcare Assistants into Holistic Nursing Practices to Enhance Patient-Centered Care

Abstract

Holistic nursing emphasizes addressing the multifaceted needs of patients, including physical, emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions. However, the increasing complexity of healthcare, coupled with nurse shortages and increasing patient demands, underscores the need to integrate healthcare assistants into nursing teams. Healthcare assistants provide essential support to nurses by managing non-clinical tasks such as personal hygiene, mobility, and patient comfort, freeing nurses to focus on clinical nursing tasks. This collaboration improves quality of care, enhances patient satisfaction, and reduces nurse burnout. The integration of healthcare assistants into holistic nursing practices also promotes effective collaboration between disciplines, ensuring that care plans are customized to the individual patient’s needs. Furthermore, the use of technological technologies, such as electronic health records, wearable devices, and predictive analytics, improves care delivery, enhances communication, and supports proactive interventions. The integration of healthcare assistants into holistic nursing practices is a sustainable solution to meet the growing demands of modern healthcare while ensuring comprehensive, patient-centered care. Accordingly, this review explores the role of healthcare assistants in comprehensive nursing practice and their impact on patient outcomes and healthcare systems.