Defining adequacy of staffing in general hospital wards: a Delphi study.
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ABSTRACT: Objectives
To gain consensus on the items that determine adequacy of shift staffing.Design
This was a three-round Delphi study to establish consensus on what defines adequacy of shift staffing in a general hospital ward. A literature review, focus group and five semistructured expert interviews were used to generate items for the Delphi study.Setting
Multicentre study in The Netherlands.Participants
Nurses, head nurses, nursing managers, and capacity consultants and managers working for Dutch hospitals.Results
Twenty-six items were included in the Delphi study. One hundred and sixty-eight, 123 and 93 participants were included in the first, second and third round, respectively. After three rounds, six items were included (mostly related to direct patient care) and nine items were excluded. No consensus was reached on 12 items, including one item that was added after the first round.Conclusions
This is the first study to specify items that determine adequacy of staffing. These items can be used to measure adequacy of staffing, which is crucial for enhancing nurse staffing methods. Further research is needed to refine the items of staffing adequacy and to further develop and psychometrically test an instrument for measuring staffing adequacy.
SUBMITTER: van der Mark CJEM
PROVIDER: S-EPMC9351332 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Defining adequacy of staffing in general hospital wards: a Delphi study.
van der Mark Carmen J E M CJEM Kraan Jocelynn J Hendriks Paul H J PHJ Vermeulen Hester H Oostveen Catharina J van CJV
BMJ open 20220802 8
<h4>Objectives</h4>To gain consensus on the items that determine adequacy of shift staffing.<h4>Design</h4>This was a three-round Delphi study to establish consensus on what defines adequacy of shift staffing in a general hospital ward. A literature review, focus group and five semistructured expert interviews were used to generate items for the Delphi study.<h4>Setting</h4>Multicentre study in The Netherlands.<h4>Participants</h4>Nurses, head nurses, nursing managers, and capacity consultants a ...[more]
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