Improvement of quality of nursing care: a goal to challenge in the eighties.
Some general thoughts on the use of the quality concept as a means to structure critical reflection on patient-client care and health services is discussed. The continuous request for more health care facilities and quality of services occupies not only the minds of the health workers, but also of the consumer who is becoming more aware of his rights and privileges. Health care should not be identified with curative care only. It involves prevention and promotion of people's status of health as well. Nurses have an important contribution to make in the promotion of health. The paper deals also with the evaluation of quality of care. If nurses become involved in the evaluation of nursing care they should have a clear concept of what nursing is. The nursing profession has a responsibility to develop standards and criteria for the evaluation of nurses' contribution in patient care. An example of a well-tested monitoring quality instrument is given. In the last part of the paper some practical suggestions for managers who are responsible for the quality care improvement in their own health care institutions are given.
D004506:Education, Nursing / Q000592:standards; D006293:Health Promotion; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000592:standards*; D009738:Nursing Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011787:Quality of Health Care