Relation between Nurses- Patients Ratio and Nursing Outcomes at Intensive Care Units

Abstract

Background : Better nurses-patients staffing ratio helps to improve nurses’ attitudes toward their job and prevent adverse nursing outcomes and promote nurses' health and well-being which enhance them to deliver high quality patient care. Aim: Assess the relation between nurses - patients ratio and nursing outcomes at Intensive Care Units. Design: A descriptive correlation design was used. Setting: Intensive Care Units at Tanta University Main and Emergency Hospitals. Subject: All nurses (N=476) who were working at both hospitals. Tools: Data were collected by using two tools: Nurses-patients ratio and Nursing Outcomes Structured Questionnaire. Results: The average daily nurse to patient ratio in three shifts according to unit specialty was 2.10± 0.59, 87.4% of intensive care nurses had unsatisfactory level of job satisfaction, 81.7% had a low level of burnout and 54.0% of had a low level of overall intention to leave. Conclusion : There was a statistically significant negative correlation between overall job satisfaction and the average daily Intensive Care nurses-patients ratio in three shifts, While, there were statistically significant positive correlation between overall IC nurses' burnout and intention to leave and the average daily nurses-patients ratio in three shifts. Recommendations : Hospital administration need to create IC policies and guidelines for safely nurses' ratio and staffing, Hospital /unit managers should offer flexible scheduling options to accommodate the needs of nurses, such as part-time or remote work arrangements.