Beyond the acute care setting: community-based nonacute care nursing-sensitive indicators.

In 1994, concerns about the effects of hospital restructuring on patient care resulted in the American Nurses Association (ANA) undertaking a major, long-term initiative. Nursing's Safety & Quality Initiative (the Initiative) was designed to measure the impact of such changes on patient care. The Initiative has three major foci: research, continuing education, and legislation/policy. This article addresses a recent development in the research component of the Initiative, involving the identification of nursing-sensitive indicators for community-based nonacute care.

Nursing and threats to patient and nurse safety and quality of patient care.

A major effect of today's emphasis on cost-cutting in health care has been reductions in the numbers and mix of registered nurses (RNs). RNs have increased concerns over patient and practitioner safety and patient care quality. The American Nurses Association (ANA) has a major, multi-phase project addressing these concerns, called Nursing's Safety and Quality Initiative. This initiative encompasses: nursing-sensitive quality indicators, educating staff nurses, researching the impact of skill mix on patient outcomes, political activities, a national database of nursing quality indicators, and liaisons and coalitions. These activities reflects ANA's commitment to patient and nurse safety and the quality of patient care.