Nursing workload in the health services of a Peruvian hospital
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20453/renh.v18i.2025.6598Keywords:
workload, nursing, patient care management, health workforce, personnel managementAbstract
Objective: To evaluate the workload of nursing staff in the hospital services of a Peruvian public hospital using the Nursing Activities Score (NAS) instrument. Materials and methods: Descriptive, quantitative, and cross-sectional study with a sample of 518 observations carried out in the Pediatrics, Medicine, Surgery, and Gynecology departments of a public hospital in Lima. The NAS instrument was used and administered through the NAS Manager® software, with descriptive statistical analysis performed using STATA 17. Results: An overall average workload of 36.7% was identified. By hospital service, the percentages were as follows: Pediatrics (40.5%), Gynecology (37.8%), Medicine (35.7%), and Surgery (32.9%). In specific areas, the following stood out: Pediatrics (isolated area: 54.7%; Area C: 40.9%), Medicine (Pneumology: 43.8%; Area E: 36.1%), Surgery (Area G: 35.7%; Area F: 33.3%). The predominant activities were administrative tasks (97.3-100%), hygiene procedures (92.8-97.0%), and monitoring and evaluation (89.9-100%). Less frequent activities included ventilatory support (4.8-10.9%) and metabolic support (7.4-30.3%). Conclusions: The nursing workload significantly exceeds the internationally recommended optimal ranges (10.0-25.0%). The use of NAS enabled an objective and systematic evaluation, highlighting the urgent need to appropriately redistribute human resources to improve the quality of care and patient safety.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Flor de Jeanette Blas Bergara, Nidian Narváez Millán , Rosmery Angulo Benavides, Santos Elizabeth Briceño Cabanillas, Teresa Elizabeth Zanabria Capcha, Dyan Tessie Sharon Paico Changana, Angela Pierina Carhuachin Sinche , Johana Vanessa Collantes Zapata
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