title: Nurses' roles in direct nursing care delivery in China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the nurses' roles in direct nursing care delivery in the neurology ward in China.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  As patients' demands for healthcare have increased, the quality of the nursing service has become a focus of attention. Nurses play an important role in the delivery of care and can affect the quality of patient care.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a non-participation, observational, time-task/activity study. All nursing care providers were observed during two shifts (16 hours) as constituents of the workload to explain the nurses' roles.
  
  
  RESULTS
  An astonishingly low percentage (25.6%) of the total patient care workload was conducted by registered nurses. The rest of the care was provided by nursing students (10.5%), health care assistants (21%), and a substantial portion by the patients' relatives (43.7%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nurses' roles in direct nursing care delivery are inadequate in China. Nurse staffing and allocation must meet the increasing demand from clients to secure the highest quality and safety of healthcare.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department of Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, 200120. Electronic address: jianghuitest@163.com.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200032. Electronic address: to_seven@126.com.
authors.forename: Hongxia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department of Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, 200120. Electronic address: lily_ma_81@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Nursing Department of Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China, 200120. Electronic address: gy1235@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D024802:Nurse's Role
keywords: China; Direct nursing care; Nurses' roles; Nursing workload measurement