FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2000
CONTACT:
Hope Hall, 202-651-7027
Joan Meehan-Hurwitz, 202-651-7020
rn=realnews@ana.org
www.nursingworld.org/rnrealnews
ANA Identifies Indicators for Community-Based, Non-Acute Care
Pilot-testing is next stepWashington, D.C. - The American Nurses Association (ANA) has identified 10 nursing-sensitive indicators for use in community-based, non-acute care settings. The indicators are now ready for pilot testing in settings, such as long-term care facilities, schools and home care. The development of these indicators is part of ANA's nationwide Nursing Safety and Quality Initiative, a multi-phase effort to investigate the impact of health care restructuring on the safety and quality of patient care and on the nursing profession. Through this initiative, ANA has developed nursing's quality indicators for acute care settings and now has identified quality indicators for community based, non-acute settings.
ANA developed nursing-sensitive indicators for acute care settings in 1996. The purpose was to explore the link between RN staffing and safety and quality of patient care. Acknowledging the importance of identifying nursing-sensitive indicators across the continuum of care, ANA has turned its focus toward community-based, non-acute settings. ANA's Congress of Nursing Practice and Economics appointed an advisory committee of experts to develop nursing care indicators believed to be vital to the quality of care in community-based, non-acute settings in nursing practice.
The advisory committee followed the same evidence-based methods used to identify the acute care indicators. Remaining consistent with the methodology developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a thorough literature review guided by strict inclusion criterion was performed, a field review of indicator categories was completed and a focus group and a literature review were conducted to identify operational definitions and usable instruments. The criteria used in identifying the indicators included but were not limited to clinical relevance, availability of data, validity and reliability of the indicators, believed relevance of the indicator to nursing practice and usefulness of data in influencing nursing practice.
The 10 indicators approved for utilization include the following:
With the development of these new indicators, ANA has the opportunity to further stimulate the nursing community and the health care community at large to include the impact of nursing care on patient outcomes in quality care measurement. ANA plans to seek additional funding for pilot testing to disseminate information to the public and the health care community and to undertake further indicator development.
"Identifying and testing these indicators in community settings with non-acute clients is a positive step for nursing practice," said ANA President Mary Foley, MS, RN. "It will provide a more comprehensive perspective to our research on quality indicators demonstrating the linkages between nursing care and patient outcomes. Testing these indicators will provide greater insight into what nurses and patients have known intuitively for years - RNs make a critical difference in providing safe, high-quality patient care."
More and more care is being delivered in community-based settings and this is increasingly a major area of nursing practice. According to the 1996 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses, from 1980 to 1996 the number of RNs working in public and community health settings increased approximately 116 percent. As more hospitals move toward serving only very sick patients requiring highly complex care, more people will depend on community-based settings for their health care needs. With 2.6 million RNs nationwide, the number of interactions nurses have with patients is limitless and, therefore, of great relevance. Developing indicators that will measure the impact of nursing care on patient outcomes is a natural progression in measuring and ensuring quality health care.
Pilot testing of the indicators in community-based, non-acute settings is anticipated for 2001. For more information on the non-acute indicators and pilot testing opportunities, contact Patricia Rowell, PhD, RN, ANA Senior Policy Fellow at 202-651-7058.
# # #
ANA is the only full-service professional organization representing the nation's 2.6 million registered nurses through its 53 constituent associations. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.
Sign up to receive ANA Press Releases by e-mail Other past press releases: 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996
 |
||||
| Search | Contact ANA | Join/Renew Membership | Members Only | Online CE |
NursingInsider Special Offersnursesbooks.org
© 2008 The American Nurses Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Copyright Policy | Privacy Statement | ||||