Nurses’ Reports On Hospital Care In Five Countries

• DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.20.3.43
• Publication Date: 2003-12-08T18:51:26Z
• Authors: Linda H. Aiken; Sean P. Clarke; Douglas M. Sloane; Julie A. Sochalski; Reinhard Busse; Heather Clarke; Phyllis Giovannetti; Jennifer Hunt; Anne Marie Rafferty; Judith Shamian
• Keywords: Canada; Attitude of Health Personnel; Developed Countries; Workload; Nursing Staff, Hospital; Pennsylvania; Job Satisfaction; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; England; Scotland; Germany; Humans; Health Services Research; 0305 other medical science; Burnout, Professional; Quality of Health Care

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.