Indicadores de qualidade de enfermagem / Indicators of quality of nursing care

ABSTRACT

This is an integrative review to highlight and discuss the main characteristics of quality indicators in nursing and their influence on health care. The selected publications were published between 2003-2013 and indexed in LILACS, Base de Dados de Enfermagem and SciELO. We analyzed 14 articles and defined three categories the main nursing indicators used in Brazil; the indicator as an organizational tool; the quality of care in nursing. In conclusion, the most commonly used indicators are related to falling out of bed, loss of probes; pressure ulcers; non-compliance in medication administration, and phlebitis, but the need of looking for other indicators is clear. Although the implementation of indicators has structural, cultural, and political difficulties, their use has caused major impact on health care in Brazil.