Nursing care quality: a study carried out in Portuguese hospitals

Abstract

Background: In a constant pursuit for professional ex-cellence, nurses are required to comply with the quality standards of nursing care. Thus, it is essential to unders-tand this phenomenon in the hospital setting. Objectives: To analyze nurses’ perception of the imple-mentation of quality standards in nursing care. Methodology: A quantitative, descriptive-exploratory study was conducted in 36 public hospital institutions located in mainland Portugal, involving a total of 3.451 nurses. Data were collected using a questionnaire. Results: Most nurses often or always performed activities that enhance the quality of nursing care. This analysis showed that nurses perceive activities related to Health Promotion, Well-being and Self-care, and Functional Readaptation as less implemented. On the other hand, activities related to Responsibility and Ri-gor and Prevention of Complications are implemented most often. Conclusion: The findings suggest that nursing practices should be redesigned and adjusted based on the activities that are less often implemented.