Nurse-sensitive quality and benchmarking in hospitals striving for Magnet® or Pathway® designation: A qualitative...

To examine if and how selected German hospitals use nurse-sensitive clinical indicators and perspectives on national/international benchmarking.

Qualitative study.

In 2020, 18 expert interviews were conducted with key informants from five purposively selected hospitals, being the first in Germany implementing Magnet® or Pathway®. Interviews were analyzed using content analysis with deductive-inductive coding. The study followed the COREQ guideline.

Three major themes emerged: first, limited pre-existence of and necessity for nurse-sensitive data. Although most interviewees reported data collection for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers and falls with injuries, implementation varied and interviewees highlighted the necessity to develop additional nurse-sensitive indicators for the German context. Second, the theme creating an enabling data environment comprised building clinicians' acceptance, establishing a data culture, and reducing workload by using electronic health records. Third, challenges and opportunities in establishing benchmarking were identified but most interviewees called for a national or European benchmarking system.

The need for further development of nurse-sensitive clinical indicators and its implementation in practice was highlighted. Several actions were suggested at hospital level to establish an enabling data environment in clinical care, including a nationwide or European benchmarking system.

Involving nurses in data collection, comparison and benchmarking of nurse-sensitive indicators and their use in practice can improve quality of patient care.

Nurse-sensitive indicators were rarely collected, and a need for action was identified. The study results show research needs on nurse-sensitive indicators for Germany and Europe. Measures were identified to create an enabling data environment in hospitals. An initiative was started in Germany to establish a nurse-sensitive benchmarking capacity.

Clinical practitioners and nurse/clinical managers were interviewed.