The disputes between medical staff and patients have become one of the major social issues that seriously affect the provision of health care service delivery today. The specific problem that the study intended to address was the continued existence of disputes between nurses and patients at University Teaching Hospital (UTH)-Adult Hospital despite measures put in place. The main objective of the study was to assess factors influencing disputes between nurses and patients at Adult Hospital in UTH. The specific objectives of the study were to assess the current factors influencing dispute between nurses and patients, describe the impact of Humanistic quality on nurse-patient dispute, investigate the effect of patient’s recognition of nursing work on nurse-patient dispute and determine the role of personality traits in nurse-patient disputes. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. The study targeted a population of 800 nurses and patients in UTH from which a sample of 266 was drawn using purposive and simple random techniques. The study used questionnaires and interviews to collected data and 200 were full answered representing 75% response rate. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the aid of a statistical package for social science (SPSS) software too. A chi-square test was used to test the association between variables and a p-value of 0.05 or less was considered statistically significant. The results indicate that most nurses differed with patients more than two times per hospital stay. The highest number of respondents experienced more than 2 times disputes with the patient. Similarly, most patients differed with nurses more than two times per hospital stay. Further, the results of Chi-square test revealed a statistically significant association between nurse-patient dispute and Humanistic quality, Patient’s recognition of nursing work, Personality traits (p<0.05). The study concluded that nurse-patient disputes were associated with humanistic quality, patients’ recognition of nurses’ work and personality traits. The study recommended that UTH-Adult hospital management should improve in communication by listening to nurses’ challenges and give response in time and Nurses should also explain well about the disputes to patients to make them understand.

Keywords: Humanistic Quality, Patients’ Recognition of Nursing Work, Personality Traits.