Abstract

This study aimed to discover the correlation between patient satisfaction with nursing care activities and staffing patterns. The research was conducted at the medical ward of a secondary care regional hospital in Slovenia over one month. Data was collected with regard to the following: (1) patients cared for daily and number of hours/patients day at the ward level, (2) patient needs (using a classification system), (3) nurse activities as observed at 10-minute intervals, and (4) the Patient Perception of Hospital Experience with Nursing tool. A total of 218 patients were involved, and their satisfaction with nursing care was found to be high. Patient satisfaction was negatively correlated with the number of patients cared for at the unit daily, but positively with the number of care hours per patient day, the proportion of registered nurses in the nursing team, the realized percentage of the registered nurse personnel requirements, and with some direct care activities. The correlation also revealed three process items (undivided attention, explanation, and things are done without asking) being the special strengths of nursing care activities. The results show that nurse-staffing and process patterns affect patient experience. It is thus recommended to increase the amount of nursing care offered by registered nurses, while nurses’ competences can affect the process of care, and thus patient satisfaction.

Highlights

  • Patient satisfaction with hospital care has been defined as the degree of alignment between the care expected and actual care received, as perceived by patients [1]

  • Nurses have been recognized as the key factors influencing patient satisfaction because they are involved in almost every aspect of the healthcare process [2]

  • Each member of nursing staff cared for an average of three patients/ day, and every registered nurse was responsible for an average of 8.5 patients/day

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Summary

Introduction

Patient satisfaction with hospital care has been defined as the degree of alignment between the care expected and actual care received, as perceived by patients [1]. Nursing care processes are integrated with other healthcare processes, when the quality of nursing care is poor, patients’ satisfaction has been found to be low [3]. The use of a good structure increases the likelihood of good processes, and good processes increase the likelihood of good outcomes [4]. The best criteria with regard to reflecting the structure and process of nursing care and the related patient outcomes are the nursing-sensitive indicators [5]. The literature describes two general nursing-sensitive patient outcomes: adverse and positive. Some adverse patient outcomes that are potentially sensitive to nursing care are urinary tract infections, pneumonia, shock, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, longer hospital stays, failure to rescue, and 30-day mortality [6]. The main positive nursing-sensitive patient outcome is patient satisfaction with nursing care quality

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