Tools that measure nursing activity and its repercussion on health outcomes
Section: Medicion trabajo enfermero
How to quote
Subirana Casacuberta M et al. Revisión sistemática de los instrumentos que miden la actividad de Enfermería. Metas de Enferm jul/ago 2006; 9(6): 22-27
Authors
Mireia Subirana Casacuberta, Ivan Solà Arnau
Position
Servicio de Epidemiología Clínica y Salud Pública. Centro Cochrane Iberoamericano. Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (Casa de Convalescència).
Contact address
St. Antoni Maria Claret 171. 08041 Barcelona.
Contact email: msubirana@santpau.es
Abstract
Background: when we talk about systems that measure work loads, care standards, appropriateness of the nursing staff, or the ratio nurse/patient, the aim is to objectivise if this apportion meets the demands of the patients and system adequately. In this article, the first of a series of 10, we describe methodological aspects of systematic review, presenting the script of the series, together with a glossary of the abbreviations used.Objectives of the review: to identify those instruments and indicators that describe the nursing staff and its correlation with patient outcomes.
Methodology: the consulted databases were: CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Plus Library, as well as the BDIE, CUIDEN and CUIDATGE national databases. Validation studies of the instruments relating to the nursing staff were selected by two independent reviewers, establishing a relationship between nursing staff indicators and healthcare outcomes.
Main results: 68 studies were included that allowed the identification of 18 tools measuring nursing workload and 5 staff indicators.
Conclusions of the reviewers: it is not possible to establish the validity of these instruments conclusively because there is no gold standard. It is necessary to establish a standardised definition of the staff indicators.
Keywords:
tools; workloads; staff; management; Systematic reviewhealthcare outcomes
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