Feng shui: implications of selected principles for holistic nursing care of the open heart patient

Abstract

This qualitative study sought to explore the Hong Kong Chinese patient's perceptions of an Intensive Care experience and their views on the introduction of feng shui principles focussing on sleep orientations, dietary management and exercise regimes. The study explored the background of feng shui as an authentic traditional Chinese belief. It also explores if incorporating these feng shui principles into the health care setting would provide a positive effect for open-heart patients in an Intensive Care Unit at the Hong Kong Adventist Hospital in Hong Kong. The major inference drawn from this study is that Chinese patients seek culturally related experiences from the health care setting. The Chinese informants showed strong belief patterns in traditional practices of feng shui, however, practiced these within the confines of their homes as these experiences were denied to them in the hospital setting.