Complexity Of Nursing Care Research Articles

How Are Diagnosis-Related Groups and Staffing Allocation Systems Associated with the Complexity of Nursing Care? An Observational Study.

In Italy, Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs) have been adopted for hospital services reimbursement. In some Italian regions, nurse staffing allocation is purely volume-based, with different minutes/patient/day categories determined by the type of hospital ward. The Information System of Nursing Performance (SIPI) is a valid and reliable tool assessing nursing care complexity as an indicator of the actual nursing care demand. Evidence is lacking about the ability of current resource allocation methods to account for the nursing care demand. To evaluate the association between (1) DRG rates and nursing care complexity and (2) hospital ward categories of nurse staffing and nursing care complexity. All patients discharged from the medical department of an Italian hospital over a data collection period were eligible. To assess the association between nursing care complexity (SIPI) and DRGs, the distribution of the DRG rate (median and first-third quartile) was compared for cases with high or low complexity. To evaluate the association between nursing care complexity (SIPI) and nurse staffing, the frequency of high complexity within nurse staffing categories (120/180/240 min/patient/day) was compared. Because the sample was very large, methods of statistical inference were not applied, and only descriptive measures were reported. 6872 hospitalizations were included. The median DRG rate for high and low complexity admissions were very similar (EUR 3536 and EUR 3285, respectively). The proportion of admissions with high complexity decreased for wards with higher staffing allocation rates. DRG reimbursement and the nurse staffing allocation systems were ineffective in accounting for nursing care complexity. The SIPI could help identify areas requiring more financial and staffing resources for nursing care.

Factors affecting missed nursing care in hospitalized frail older adults in the medical wards: a qualitative study

BackgroundFrail older adults who are hospitalized, are more likely to experience missed nursing care (MNC) due to high care needs, communication problems, and complexity of nursing care. We conducted a qualitative study to examine the factors affecting MNC among hospitalized frail older adults in the medical units.MethodsThis qualitative study was carried using the conventional content analysis approach in three teaching hospitals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 nurses through purposive and snowball sampling. The inclusion criteria for the nurses were: at least two years of clinical work experience on a medical ward, caring for frail older people in hospital and willingness to participate. Data were analyzed in accordance with the process described by Graneheim and Lundman. In addition, trustworthiness of the study was assessed using the criteria proposed by Lincoln and Guba.ResultsIn general, 20 interviews were conducted with nurses. A total of 1320 primary codes were extracted, which were classified into two main categories: MNC aggravating and moderating factors. Factors such as “age-unfriendly structure,” “inefficient care,” and “frailty of older adults” could increase the risk of MNC. In addition, factors such as “support capabilities” and “ethical and legal requirements” will moderate MNC.ConclusionsHospitalized frail older adults are more at risk of MNC due to high care needs, communication problems, and nursing care complexity. Nursing managers can take practical steps to improve the quality of care by addressing the aggravating and moderating factors of MNC. In addition, nurses with a humanistic perspective who understand the multidimensional problems of frail older adults and pay attention to their weakness in expressing needs, can create a better experience for them in the hospital and improve patient safety.

Medication Errors and Their Relationship with Care Complexity and Work Dynamics.

BACKGROUND:Medication errors are currently known as the most common medical errors. Research shows that work environment and organisation management, in addition to the role of nurses, contribute to the occurrence of an error.AIM:Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the rate of nurses’ medication errors and its relation to the care complexity and work dynamics in the Taleghani Pediatric Hospital of Gorgan in 2017.MATERIAL AND METHODS:This was a descriptive-correlational and cross-sectional study. Sampling was done through census method (N = 100). The data collection tools consisted of four questionnaires of demographic information, Salyer work dynamics, Medication Administration Errors, and Velasquez Nursing Care Complexity. Data were analysed in SPSS V.16 software using descriptive and inferential statistical methods including independent t-test and Pearson’s correlation.RESULTS:Medication calculation errors, wrong dose and wrong medication were the most common non-injectable medication errors, respectively. Drug incompatibility, wrong infusion rate and medication calculation errors were the most common injectable medication errors, respectively. There was a positive correlation between medication calculation errors (P = 0.02, r = 0.23), wrong solvent (P = 0.04, r = 0.21), and drug incompatibility (P = 0.01, r = 0.25) with amount of work dynamics. Also, there was a positive correlation between medication calculation errors (P = 0.03, r = 0.22) and wrong medication (P = 0.00, r = 0.31) with the nursing care complexity.CONCLUSION:Regarding the irrefutable impact of working conditions on the occurrence of errors, it appears that the study and complete recognition of nurses’ working conditions and their adjustment would lead to a reduction in medication errors.

Ogroženost za padce v terciarni bolnišnici

Uvod: Namen raziskave je bil ugotoviti, kakšna je ogroženost za padce odraslih pacientov v akutni zdravstveni obravnavi ter kakšne so razlike v ogroženosti glede na spol, starost, kraj pacientove obravnave (kliniko) in specialnost stroke ter kategorijo zahtevnosti bolnišnične zdravstvene nege.Metode: Uporabljeno je bilo kvantitativno raziskovanje – presečna opazovalna raziskava. Vzorec (n = 1361) je vključeval odrasle paciente, hospitalizirane v Univerzitetnem kliničnem centru Ljubljana. Podatki so se zbirali na za to posebej razvitem instrumentu, pri čemer je bila ogroženost za padce vrednotena z Morsejino lestvico. Podatki so se zbirali od oktobra do novembra 2015. Poleg osnovne deskriptivne statistike so bili uporabljeni tudi Mann-Whitneyjev test, test ANOVA in Pearsonov korelacijski test.Rezultati: Raziskava je pokazala, da je v akutni zdravstveni obravnavi v slovenski terciarni bolnišnici zmerno do visoko ogroženih za padce 69,1 % (n = 940) pacientov, od tega je 28,0 % (n = 381) visoko ogroženih. Ogroženost pacientov za padce je pozitivno povezana s starostjo (r = 0,462, p < 0,001). Razlikuje se tudi glede na kliniko (F = 29,210, p < 0,001), specialnost stroke (Z = –5,660, p < 0,001) ter kategorijo zahtevnosti zdravstvene nege (F = 125,464, p < 0,001).Diskusija in zaključek: Pomembno bolj ogroženi so starejši, pacienti, razvrščeni v višje kategorije zahtevnosti bolnišnične zdravstvene nege, ter pacienti, zdravljeni v okviru internističnih strok. Rutinsko ocenjevanje ogroženosti, načrtovanje in izvajanje ukrepov za preprečevanje padcev so temelji zmanjševanja padcev.

Nursing care complexity in a psychiatric setting: results of an observational study

For nurses working in mental health service settings, it is a priority to perform patient assessments to identify patients' general and behavioural risks and nursing care complexity using objective criteria, to meet the demand for care and to improve the quality of service by reducing health threat conditions to the patients' selves or to others (adverse events). This study highlights that there is a relationship between the complexity of psychiatric patient care, which was assigned a numerical value after the nursing assessment, and the occurrence of psychiatric adverse events in the recent histories of the patients. The results suggest that nursing supervision should be enhanced for patients with high care complexity scores.

A system of patient classification: construction and validation of an instrument

This study had in its aim the construction and the validation of a patient classification instrument which has been based on the patient's individual necessities that require the nursing care. It was considered in the instrument 13 critical indicators: Mental State and Level of Consciousness. Breathing, Vital Signs, Nutrition and Hydration, Movement, Locomotion, Corporeal Hygiene, Eliminations, Therapy, Health Teaching, Behavior, Communication and Skin Integrety. Each one of these indicators has a 1 to 5 gradation denoting an increasing level in the nursing care complexity. The patient is classified in all the indicators in one of the five levels, in the option that better describes his/her situation. The content validation of the instrument was done by the Delphi Technique application through 2 rounds. A team of 15 nursing experts who attend patients or teach in the Medical School in São José do Rio Preto were participants in this research. The obtained results have showed the experts' agreement concerned to: the maintenance of the 13 critical indicators in the instrument; property and intelligibility of the critical indicator contents and the presence of an increasing level in the nursing care complexity.

Testing a classification instrument for the ambulatory care setting.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the construct validity, generalizability, and interrater reliability of an instrument designed to measure the complexity of nursing care in the ambulatory care setting. The conceptual framework for the development of the classification instrument was adapted from a theory of organizations and is based upon knowledge technology. Previous research using the Delphi methodology delineated 44 activity categories for the classification instrument. These categories were organized under six literature-based responsibility areas. The instrument was tested in seven areas of one hospital-based ambulatory care setting. A total of 641 valid patient ratings were used for the analysis. Results indicate the instrument has beginning construct validity and high interrater reliability with training. It is not generalizable across services unless the effect of clinic type on nursing care complexity is considered.