Nurses' reports on hospital care in five countries.
The current nursing shortage, high hospital nurse job dissatisfaction, and reports of uneven quality of hospital care are not uniquely American phenomena. This paper presents reports from 43,000 nurses from more than 700 hospitals in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, and Germany in 1998-1999. Nurses in countries with distinctly different health care systems report similar shortcomings in their work environments and the quality of hospital care. While the competence of and relation between nurses and physicians appear satisfactory, core problems in work design and workforce management threaten the provision of care. Resolving these issues, which are amenable to managerial intervention, is essential to preserving patient safety and care of consistently high quality.
Aiken
L H
LH
Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, USA.
Clarke
S P
SP
Sloane
D M
DM
Sochalski
J A
JA
Busse
R
R
Clarke
H
H
Giovannetti
P
P
Hunt
J
J
Rafferty
A M
AM
Shamian
J
J
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002055:Burnout, Professional; D002170:Canada; D019049:Developed Countries; D004739:England; D005858:Germany; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D010414:Pennsylvania; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012606:Scotland; D016526:Workload