Carga laboral de los profesionales de enfermería en unidad de cuidados intensivos. Estudio descriptivo: «CARETIME»

Abstract

IntroductionNursing workload in intensive care units is directly related to the efficiency and quality of care. However, there is limited data on this subject in Colombia, despite the importance of the administration and management of these units. ObjectiveTo describe the workload of nurses in a high complexity ICU in Santander, Colombia. MethodologyA descriptive study was carried out with the professional nursing staff of an ICU of a high complexity hospital between July and November 2018. Nursing Activities Score (NAS) was used to measure the workload. The information was entered into the software EpiData 3.1, and then exported to the statistical package Stata 14.0 where it was analysed using descriptive statistics. ResultsThe most prevalent type of diagnosis was in the infectious category, with 24.0% (n=12). The mean stay in ICU stay was 11 days (Q1:7- Q3:17) and the degree of criticality was calculated with the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score for each patient, obtaining a mean of 8.1±3.44 points. The mean overall NAS score was 60.51±12.13 (min: 36.6 and max: 92.7). The activity in which nurses spent the most time in the ICU is monitoring and control, with 16.18±4.34 according NAS categories, including mobilisation and positional changes with 9.69±3.97, followed by renal support with 8.71±3.30. ConclusionThe ICU nursing staff use more than half of their shift time to a single patient in the intensive care unit (61). Similarly, direct care activities occupy the largest percentage of their time during this period.