RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the utility and difficulty of writing the nursing discharge report perceived by nurses working in the hospitalization unit of the Fuenlabrada Hospital in Spain. METHOD: We performed a cross-sectional, descriptive study in all nurses working in hospitalization units in the Fuenlabrada Hospital (Madrid) in the last trimester of 2006. A questionnaire was used to collect sociodemographic variables, variables related to perceived utility of the report in general and variables measuring the difficulty of completing the report. The questionnaires were delivered to the hospitalization units and collected personally. For the statistical analysis, the chi-square test and Student's t-test and/or analysis of variance were used. The SPSS/PC statistical package, version 12.0, was used. RESULTS: Seventy-four completed questionnaires were obtained (57.4 % of the population analyzed). Of the nurses surveyed, 61 (82.4 %) considered the report to be useful in assuring continuity of care and 57 nurses (77 %) thought it useful in providing information to the patients. In total, 60 nurses (82.1 %) considered the report's structure to be not very suitable or unsuitable. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses' satisfaction with the report is high. The report is seen as effective in assuring continuity of care and as useful to patients. However, the report's structure should be improved.