The effect of Nurse Staffing on Quality of Care and Patient Satisfaction in the Medical and Surgical Wards in Public Hospitals in Fako

ABSTRACT:Nurse staffing is an important component in determining patient care quality and satisfaction. This study was aimed at assessing the effect of nurse staffing on quality of care and patient satisfaction in the medical and surgical wards in the public hospitals in Fako.This retrospective and analytic cross-sectional study used the hospital administrative data to gather staffing information (the number of nurses, the nursing staff constitution) and data was collected from patients in the medical and surgical wards in public hospitals in Fako using an adapted “Karen-patient instrument for measuring quality of care” and the “Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care Quality Questionnaire” over a period of 2 months. The probability proportionate to size sampling was applied to get the appropriate sample size. Data collected was analysed using SPSS version 25.The overall nurse to patient ratio was 1:9.2.Based on the mean score, 47.1% of patients had good quality of nursing care while 52.9% had poor quality of nursing care. Half of the participants (50.4%) were satisfied with the overall nursing services while 49.6% were not satisfied. There was a significant relationship between mean patient to nurse ratio and quality of care as well as patient satisfaction (p<0.001 and p=0.02 respectively).The overall nurse to patient ratio was 1:9.2. The overall quality of nursing care was poor and patient satisfaction was moderate. The study found a relationship between staffing and quality of care as well as patient satisfaction.

Keywords:Nurse Staffing, Patients, Patient’s Satisfaction, Quality of Care