Variability in the complexity of patient's nursing care needs

Authors

  • Vivian Brito de Araújo Real Sociedade Beneficente Espanhola
  • Márcia Galan Perroca Real Sociedade Beneficente Espanhola
  • Marli de Carvalho Jericó Faculdade de Medicina de São José do Rio Preto

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692009000100006

Keywords:

nursing assessment, workload, inpatients^i1^sclassificat

Abstract

The aim of this descriptive-exploratory study was to investigate the variability in the complexity of patients' nursing care needs during hospitalization and to identify the care indicators that most contribute to the transition between categories. The study was carried out at clinical and surgical inpatient units of a teaching hospital in the interior of São Paulo State. We included 80 patients from hospital admission to patient discharge, applying a classification instrument proposed and validated by Perroca. In both clinical and surgical inpatient units, patients who were classified into the minimal care category were predominant, 73% and 46%, respectively. Most of the clinical patients remained in the care category identified upon admission, while the surgical patients varied among the care categories, mainly in the post-operative period. Personal hygiene, locomotion and skin integrity were the most involved care indicators in the transition between care categories. The findings can support management decisions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2009-02-01

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2009)

Section

Original Articles

License

RLAE’s authorship concept is based on the substantial contribution by each of the individuals listed as authors, mainly in terms of conceiving and planning the research project, collecting or analyzing and interpreting data, writing and critical review. Indication of authors’ names under the article title is limited to six. If more, authors are listed on the online submission form under Acknowledgements. The possibility of including more than six authors will only be examined on multicenter studies, considering the explanations presented by the authors.
Including names of authors whose contribution does not fit into the above criteria cannot be justified. Those names can be included in the Acknowledgements section.
 Authors are fully responsible for the concepts disseminated in their manuscripts, which do not necessarily reflect the editors’ and editorial board’s opinion.

 

How to Cite

Variability in the complexity of patient’s nursing care needs. (2009). Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 17(1), 34-39. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692009000100006