Determination of Nursing Care Times Based on the Perroca Patient Classification Instrument in the Inpatient Oncology Unit: A Mixed Method Study

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine the daily nursing care times of hospitalized inpatient oncology unit patients according to degree of acuity using the Perroca Patient Classification tool.

Data Sources

This study used a mixed method sequential explanatory design. The "Nursing Activity Record Form” and “Perroca Patient Classification Instrument” were used for quantitative data collection, and direct observation was performed for 175 hours via time-motion study. Descriptive statistics, between-group comparison, and correlation analysis were used for data analysis. Using a semistructured questionnaire, qualitative data were collected from individual in-depth interviews with seven nurses who participated in the quantitative part of the study. Qualitative data were analyzed by thematic analysis. The reporting of this study followed GRAMMS checklist.

Conclusions

As a result of the integration of quantitative and qualitative data, daily nursing care duration was determined as 2 to 2.5 hours for Type 1 patients, 2.6 to 3.5 hours for Type 2 patients, 3.6 to 4.75 hours for Type 3 patients, and 4.76 to 5.5 hours for Type 4 patients. The findings showed that in an inpatient oncology unit, nursing care hours increased as patients' Perroca Patient Classification Instrument acuity grade increased; thus, the instrument was discriminative in determining patients' degree of acuity.

Implications for Nursing Practice

Nurse managers can utilize this study's results to plan daily assignments that are sensitive to patient care needs. The results can also help nurse managers to identify relationships between nurse staffing and patient outcomes at the unit level, as well as to develop ways to analyze such relationships.