Israeli nurses' knowledge of health care reforms.

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Policy

Background:

• Implementation of health care reforms requires understanding by healthcare providers.
• Nurses' knowledge is crucial for successful reform integration.
• The Israeli healthcare system underwent significant reforms initiated in 1995.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess nurses' knowledge of specific health care reform recommendations and principles.
• To identify factors influencing nurses' understanding of reforms, including employment setting, role, experience, and education.
• To evaluate the perceived relevance of reform knowledge among nurses.

Main Methods:

• A stratified nonproportional random sample of 468 nurses was surveyed.
• Participants were drawn from community, hospital, and educational nursing settings.
• Custom-developed questionnaires measured knowledge and perceived relevancy of health care reforms.

Main Results:

• Nurses exhibited low to moderate knowledge levels, particularly regarding specific reform criteria.
• Knowledge of health care reforms was perceived as highly relevant to nursing practice.
• Factors positively associated with higher knowledge included curative care settings, extensive experience, managerial roles, and non-nursing academic degrees.

Conclusions:

• Findings indicate a gap between the perceived importance and actual knowledge of health care reforms among nurses.
• Policy makers and managers should develop targeted educational initiatives to enhance nurses' understanding.
• Informing healthcare providers about reform aspects relevant to their practice is essential for effective implementation.