RÉSUMÉ
BACKGROUND: Agency nursing is used as a form of labour to counter vacant staff positions in hospitals. Stakeholders and nurses might view this critically for different reasons. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate what individual net income nurses in German intensive care units and intermediate care units consider "fair and acceptable" for their work. Furthermore, what influence does salary have on the willingness to change to agency nursing or back to a permanent position. METHODS: From September-October 2020, an anonymous online survey was performed among nurses of intermediate care units, intensive care units and special care units in German-speaking countries. The results were evaluated using descriptive statistics. RESULT: Of 1203 participants, 1036 (86%) of those working in Germany could be evaluated. The question about the individual net income was answered by 1032 (99%) participants. The majority of respondents (nâ¯= 522) stated that they had an individual net income of 2000-2999â¯/month. The higher the level of the net income, the lower the willingness to switch to agency work. The participants in permanent employment only perceive a net income of 3200â¯/month (median 3200â¯; interquartile range [IQR] 2800-3800â¯) as acceptable and fair for their work. In all, 142 agency nurses stated that an individual net income of 3200â¯/month (median 3200â¯; IQR 3000-3950â¯) would be sufficient to move from agency nursing back into permanent employment. CONCLUSION: The intensive care nurses in this survey consider a salary of 3200â¯/month as acceptable and fair for their work. The salary level can be a parameter for the decision to go into agency work, but also to move back to permanent employment. Regardless of the salary, better working conditions were indicated as an essential element in terms of job satisfaction for all respondent groups.
Sujet(s)
Unités de soins intensifs , Conditions de Travail , Humains , Salaires et prestations accessoires , Emploi , Enquêtes et questionnairesRÉSUMÉ
BACKGROUND: Agency work in nursing is used as a form of labor to counter vacant staff positions in hospitals. Both hospital owners and nurses view this critically for different reasons. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess what personal net income nurses in German intensive care units and intermediate care units consider "fair and sufficient" for their work (addressed in Part 1 of the survey) and what influence-aside from the salary-the working conditions have on the willingness to change to temporary work or back to a permanent position. METHODS: From September to October 2020, an anonymous online survey was conducted among nurses of intermediate care units, intensive care units, and special care units in German-speaking countries. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis. RESULT: Of 1203 participants, 86% (nâ¯= 1036) could be evaluated. None of the job satisfaction factors queried received four or five stars (maximum five stars) from those participating in the survey. The most unsatisfied group proved to be regularly employed nurses with an additional part-time job. Key job satisfaction factors differed markedly between the groups, with regular employees favoring consistency and stability. Agency workers prefer gaining experience in a broader range of tasks. Unreliable duty rosters and poor nurse to patient ratios were common points of criticism. CONCLUSION: For job satisfaction, making nurses feel appreciated and respected is essential. This includes a guaranteed nurse to patient ratio and reliable duty rosters that also include tasks outside direct patient care. In order for nurses to leave agency work, it is necessary to take into account the differences in interests in terms of the focus of activity.
Sujet(s)
Personnel infirmier hospitalier , Conditions de Travail , Humains , Enquêtes et questionnaires , Unités de soins intensifs , Satisfaction professionnelle , Salaires et prestations accessoiresRÉSUMÉ
BACKGROUND: Temporary contract workers are used for the nursing care of intensive care patients, usually by service providers in the sense of temporary employment. If or how temporary contract work has an impact on patient care has scarcely been investigated so far. AIM: The aim of this systematic review is to describe the available research results on the use of temporary workers in nursing care in intensive and intermediate care units and to summarize the prospective effects on patient outcomes. METHOD: Seven databases were systematically searched for English and German language articles using Boolean operators and evaluated according to the PRISMA schema. References of included studies were included in the search and the quality of all included studies was evaluated according to the Hawker criteria. RESULT: From a total of 630 datasets viewed, 1 qualitative and 2 quantitative studies were identified and analyzed. The findings of the quantitative studies indicated that the probability of the occurrence of catheter-associated infections can increase with the use of temporary workers, but is more dependent on the size of the unit: For each additional bed, the probability of VAP increases by 14.8% (95%-CIâ¯= 1.032-1.277, pâ¯= 0.011). However, trends for a decrease in the sepsis rate as soon as fewer temporary workers (hours/patient) were deployed in the intensive care unit (ICU) could not be confirmed. CONCLUSION: In the few available studies no evidence was found that the use of temporary workers in intensive care units (ICU) and intermediate care units (IMC) has a significant impact on patient outcomes; however, evidence was found that individual qualifications and working conditions have an influence on outcomes. Further studies should consider what ratio of permanent to temporary workers should be considered uncritical, what qualifications temporary workers should have and to what extent these can be checked.
Sujet(s)
Soins de réanimation , Unités de soins intensifs , Emploi , HumainsRÉSUMÉ
On July 1, 2009, the German Network for Health Services Research [Deutsches Netzwerk Versorgungsforschung e. V. (DNVF e. V.)] approved the Memorandum III "Methods for Health Services Research", supported by the member societies mentioned as authors and published in this Journal [Gesundheitswesen 2009; 71: 505-510]. This is an in-depth publication on "quality-of-life assessment in health services research". Within the context of the health sciences, quality of life (QL) encompasses the subjective well-being and functioning in the physical, psychological and social domains. QL informs about the aspects of health care that "actually get to the patient". QL is what patients primarily experience, what they talk about and what to a large degree affects the acceptance of health-care services and processes in the society. Therefore, QL can be considered as a highly important endpoint within health services research. The importance of the construct quality of life is also emphasised in German treaties on social law and utility analyses. This paper is the first account on the relations between health services research and the concept and assessment of QL. Our working group has specified key criteria for QL assessment within studies on health services research. (1) Assessment instruments need to comply with standard quality criteria (reliability, validity, sensitivity, interpretability) and the decision for a particular instrument has to be reasonably justified. (2) Study design and study population have to match with the scientific research question and the sample size has to be biometrically sound. (3) QL assessment including time points over the course of the study has to follow a standardized protocol. (4) Criteria for analysis and interpretation have to be prospectively specified. (5) Studies focusing on diagnostic/therapeutic issues need to specify standards for diagnostic criteria and related therapeutic interventions.
