[Nursing care priorities and problems: the nurses point of view].
OBJECTIVE
An experience of a tentative contribution of the nurses to the health policy planning is described.


METHODS
Fifty one focus groups were organized, with nurses from different contexts (hospital, district, free lance nurses; caring for paediatric, geriatric surgical and medical patients) and nurses were asked to identify problems encountered in patients care, select one, discuss contributing causes assign a weight (from 1 to 100) and define the nurses' contribution to the resolution/improvement of each cause. The problems were discussed in groups and possible solutions identified, with specific attention to the potential implications of regional health policies.


RESULTS
The main difficulties identified were the lack of continuity in patients care (for geriatric and paediatrics patients), 12 groups, and the management of chronic patients (7 groups); the lack of information to patients, 6 groups; the appropriateness of care, from hospital admissions to waiting lists, 5 groups; the management of surgical patients, 5 groups; the lack of nursing personnel, 5 groups; the safety of patients and health personnel, 4 groups; and other problems reported by less than 3 groups.


CONCLUSIONS
This experience allowed nurses to reflect on health care problems throughout the trajectory from the specific problem to its general implications, also for the health care policies. The solutions identified in fact, encompass a dimension relevant for health policy planning. It is also an experience of opportunity (and feasibility) of involvement of the "general nurses" and not only nurse managers, to reflect on practice and propose a specific and original contribution to the development of regional and local policies.
Piccoli
Michele
M
Università degli Studi di Torino.
Di Giulio
Paola
P
Ruffino
Emanuele
E
Zollesi
Germana
G
Dello Russo
Carolina
C
D017144:Focus Groups; D006292:Health Priorities; D006801:Humans; D009729:Nursing / Q000592:standards*