The title for the proposed study is THE IMPACT OF NURSE-PATIENT STAFF RATIO ON PATIENTS’ OUTCOMES IN ABUJA NATIONAL HOSPITAL RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Title

            The title for the proposed study is THE IMPACT OF NURSE-PATIENT STAFF RATIO ON PATIENTS’ OUTCOMES IN ABUJA NATIONAL HOSPITAL. This paper will show the different methodologies, approaches and instruments to be used in order to implement the paper in the future.

 

Background of Abuja National Hospital

The Hospital was originally designed to cater for the needs of women and children in Nigeria and the West African sub-region with a view to reduce morbidity and mortality rates, and to carry out extensive research into the peculiar causes of women and children- related diseases in Africa.

After the recruitment of manpower from home and abroad, the Hospital commenced operations on 1 September 1999.

However, in order for the vast majority of Nigerians to benefit from the services and modern equipment in the Hospital, the scope of its operation was expanded to accommodate male patients. Initially christened ‘National Hospital For Women And Children’, the National Hospital, Abuja’ came into effect from 10 May 2000.

            The Physical structure was constructed by the Arab Contractors and later by Julius Berger Nigeria] Plc, whilst the medical equipment was supplied and installed by Philips Projects (B.V.) (http://www.nationalhospitalabuja.net/about.htm).

 

Literature Review

            The impact of nurse staffing on patient outcomes has been controversial in the US and as contentious in the UK. A 2001 Audit Commission report on ward staffing in National Health Service (NHS) hospitals noted considerable variation across trusts in expenditures on nurse staffing but was not able to determine whether those differences were associated with variation in patient outcomes (Audit Commission, 2001). The Commission concluded, “Unless and until trusts that spend more [on staffing] can demonstrate a clear link with the quality of care that is delivered, movement towards a more even allocation of resources seems reasonable both for patients and staff.” (1, p. 15). The Healthcare Commission released a report in June 2005 suggesting that patients were more satisfied in hospitals with more qualified nurses but emphasized again the lack of evidence linking staffing to patient outcomes and the need for research to guide decision-making in this area (Healthcare Commission, 2005).

The Audit Commission’s report coincided with the publication of the first results from the five-country International Hospital Outcomes Study. The International Hospital Outcomes Study, involving seven interdisciplinary research teams in five countries (US, Canada, England, Scotland and Germany), examined the extent to which the relationships between nurse staffing, the quality of the nurse work environment, and patient and nurse outcomes are similar across countries with well-resourced health care systems (Aiken et al., 2002a and Aiken et al., 2002b). It was seen that over 70% of nurses providing direct patient care in participating UK NHS hospitals in England reported that there were not enough nurses on their wards to provide care of high quality (Aiken et al., 2001). More than a third of nurses in these trusts scored in the high range on a standardized measure of job burnout, and almost 40% reported that they intended to leave their jobs within a year.

 

Methodologies

Descriptive method will be used in the study. According to Creswell (1994) it can help in order to show the different facts that are connected with the nature of the status of the current problem or condition as it happens at the time of the study. This is the reason why, it is considered as one of the most applied methodology in most studies. Furthermore, it will also be helpful in order to offer logical use in the studies which focus on dissemination of information, at the same time, it can help in order to investigate based on normative standards. It will be helpful in order to focus on the practices which exist, beliefs and processes that are currently going on and the effects that are being felt and experienced, together with the trends that re currently developing (Best, 1907). This study will employ case study approach. As defined by Mikkelsen (2005, 92) case studies, focus on the special cases (cited in Blaxter, Hughes and Tight, 2006). This is applicable for small-scale researcher because it helps to focus on just one or two to three examples, which can be those places which can be easily accessed by the researcher (Blaxter, Hughes and Tight, 2006, 72).

 

References

Aiken, L.H., Clarke, S.P., Sloane, D.M., Sochalski, J., Silber, J.H. (2002), “Hospital nurse staffing and patient mortality, nurse burnout and job dissatisfaction”, Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 288 pp.1987-93.

Blaxter, L., Hughes, C. and Tight, M. (2006). How to research. McGraw-Hill International.

Creswell, J.W. (1994). Research design. Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

 

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