The quality of nursing care at an emergency unit: the patient’s perception

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The objective of this exploratory-descriptive study was to analyze the nursing care at an emergency unit based on the patients’ perception. The study was performed at a public teaching hospital. The study population consisted of 260 subjects, and data collection was performed between August and October of 2008 by means of a questionnaire using a Likert scale. We found that 52.7% of the participants were male, with an average age or 46.9 years, and most had a complete primary education (54.6%). The data collection instrument had a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.88. By comparing structure, process and outcome, the dimension with the highest score was outcome, with 36.20, while structure was the lowest, with 33.20. in conclusion, the study permitted to analyze the nursing care at the referred emergency unit, and, thus, will contribute with the reformulation of the aspects validated in the three studied dimensions. 

Descriptors: Health Evaluation; Quality of Health Care; Nursing; Emergency Nursing.