Assessing the time of direct and indirect nursing care in coronary care units and related factors in Shahid Behesti Hospital of Kashan in 2016

Introduction and The time of direct and indirect care is an indicator for the assessment of the care quality. This study aimed to measure the times of direct and indirect nursing care and related factors in Coronary Care Units in ShahidBehesti Hospital of Kashan in 2016. In this descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study, activities of 32 nurses working in coronary care units were observed. Data were collected using a checklist made of three parts including demographic data, and times of direct and indirect care. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and analysis of covariance. The level of significance was set at less than 0.05.
Findings: A total of 2792 caring activities done by the 32 nurses were observed during the study. The mean times of direct care were 145.2±46.9 min and the mean time of indirect care was 143.7±44.1 min per working shift. The time of direct care was more than the time of indirect care in cardiac ICU (162.2±19.17 min vs. 157.72±50.41 min). The largest part of the direct care (38.5%) was delivered in the evening shifts, while the largest part of the indirect care (44%)was delivered in the morning shifts. The time of direct and indirect care had no significant relationship with the nurses’ gender, work experience, employment, and educational status. In coronary care units, the time spent on direct care was more than indirect care. Despite the relatively favorable condition of caring in these units, it is necessary for the nurse managers to implement training programs and use modern documentation technology in order to provide the foundations for optimal clinical care