Nursing Activities Score: an updated guideline for its application in the Intensive Care Unit

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Critical Care

Background:

• Assessing nursing workload is crucial for effective intensive care unit (ICU) management.
• The Nursing Activities Score (NAS) is a tool used to quantify nursing workload.
• International comparisons of nursing workload require consistent application of assessment tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare nursing workload across different countries using the NAS.
• To evaluate the consistency of NAS guideline interpretation among international researchers.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 758 patients across 19 ICUs in seven countries.
• Data collected via a 1-day NAS measurement in November 2012.
• The Delphi technique was employed for consensus on NAS interpretation.

Main Results:

• The average NAS score was 72.8%, with significant international variation (44.5% in Spain to 101.8% in Norway).
• Mean NAS scores ranged from 51.0% in the Netherlands to 83.0% in Poland.
• Ambiguities in 21.7% of NAS items were resolved through consensus.

Conclusions:

• Significant differences in NAS scores exist between the seven studied countries.
• Further research is needed to determine if standardized NAS guidelines can reduce score variations.
• Improved standardization may enhance the reliability of international nursing workload comparisons.