Co esponding au ho : Ni mala M. Emmanuel
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Time spen by nu ses on nu sing ca e ac i i ies in a medical uni o a e ia y ca e
cen e
Ni mala M. Emmanuel * and P emila Lee
College o Nu sing, Ch is ian Medical College Vello e, Sou h India.
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(02), 963-967
Publica ion his o y: Recei ed on 28 Ma ch 2025; e ised on 05 May 2025; accep ed on 08 May 2025
A icle DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.30574/wja .2025.26.2.1713
Abs ac
Backg ound: Nu ses dedica e a subs an ially g ea e amoun o ime o pa ien ca e han o he heal hca e
p o essionals. Thei esponsibili ies encompass a b oad spec um o asks, including o e ing pe sonal and emo ional
suppo o pa ien s, e alua ing and eco ding pa ien condi ions, as well as pe o ming indi ec du ies such as managing
uni s and coo dina ing ca e ac i i ies wi h o he membe s o he heal hca e eam Nu ses spend signi ican ly mo e ime
in p o iding pa ien ca e compa ed o he o he heal h ca e wo ke s.
Ma e ials and Me hods: A desc ip i e s udy was done in he medical wa ds, high dependency uni and in ensi e ca e
uni o a e ia y ca e hospi al o obse e he nu sing ca e ac i i ies o he egis e ed nu ses. One hund ed pa ien s we e
chosen using con enience judgmen al sampling echnique and nu sing ca e ac i i ies pe o med o he pa ien o e 24
hou s was cap u ed using a sel - epo ing p o o ma. The ac i i ies we e analysed and ca ego ized in o 8 majo domains.
Resul s: The s udy ound ha 85.44% o nu sing ac i i ies we e dedica ed o di ec pa ien ca e, while 14.56% in ol ed
indi ec ca e asks. The majo i y o he di ec ca e ac i i ies ocused on he apeu ic in e en ions (59.32%), wi h only a
small po ion o ime alloca ed o pa ien counselling and educa ion (1.3%).
Conclusion: Pa ien assessmen and medica ion adminis a ion we e p io i ized, wi h nu ses dedica ing he majo i y
o hei ime o hese asks. In con as , psychological suppo and p epa a ion o home ca e ecei ed he leas
a en ion. To enhance he quali y o li e o pa ien s, i is essen ial o nu ses o alloca e mo e ime o emo ional ca e
and home ca e eadiness.
Keywo ds: Nu sing Ca e Ac i i ies; Sel -Repo ing; Di ec Pa ien Ca e; Quali y o Li e; Quali y Nu sing Ca e
1. In oduc ion
Nu sing ca e ac i i ies a e hose ac ions pe o med by a nu se du ing he du y hou s. I includes planning, assessmen ,
pe o ming p ocedu es and eaching o ensu e com o and heal h o he pa ien 1. The h ee ypes o nu sing ca e
ac i i ies a e independen , dependen and collabo a i e2. Acco ding o Eus ace e al. nu sing in e en ions a e classi ied
as amily, beha iou al, basic physiological, complex physiological, communi y, sa e y and heal h sys em ela ed nu sing
in e en ions3. Nu ses spend mo e ime in p o iding di ec pa ien ca e han o he heal h ca e p o essionals4. E ec i e
ime spen by nu ses wi h pa ien imp o es he pa ien ou comes and esul s wi h ewe e o s5. Assessing ime spen
by nu ses on he a ious ac i i ies will e eal he nu ses’ ime managemen , iden i y gaps in nu sing ca e, and help in
ecommending ways o imp o e he nu sing ca e ac i i ies in o de o gain good pa ien ou comes6. Examining how
ime is alloca ed ac oss nu sing ca e ac i i ies can guide s a ing s a egies, alle ia e bu nou , and enhance he quali y
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(02), 963-967
964
o ca e. This s udy seeks o conduc a ho ough e alua ion o ime dis ibu ion among a ious nu sing asks in a e ia y
ca e medical uni , wi h he goal o pinpoin ing oppo uni ies o imp o emen .
2. Ma e ial and Me hods
A c oss-sec ional desc ip i e s udy was done in he medical wa ds, medical high dependency uni (MHDU) and medical
in ensi e ca e uni (MICU) o a e ia y ca e hospi al in Sou h India o quan i y he ime spen on nu sing ca e ac i i ies
and o e alua e he ime spen on di ec and indi ec nu sing ca e ac i i ies. The nu se pa ien a io was 1:4 o 1:8 in
he gene al wa ds and 1: 1 o 1:2 in he HDU and ICU. The egis e ed nu ses including he Cha ge Nu se and he Nu se
Manage wo king in he uni we e explained abou he s udy. In o med consen was ob ained om he Nu ses willing
o p o ide sel - epo ing o he nu sing ca e ac i i ies. Pa ien s we e selec ed using judgmen al sampling o ensu e
p opo iona e ep esen a ion o medical condi ions. Pa ien s who we e expec ed o s ay o e 24 hou s we e included
in he s udy. The selec ed pa ien s we e explained abou he p ocedu e and in o med consen was ob ained. A sel -
epo ing p o o ma was placed in he cha o he selec ed pa ien . Nu sing ca e ende ed o he pa ien s we e cap u ed
on he sel - epo ing p o o ma o 24 hou s. The nu sing ac i i y, ime o s a ing and ending he ac i i y and he
signa u e o he s a we e cap u ed on he sel - epo ing p o o ma. Pa ien de ails such as diagnosis, age, and sex we e
also no ed.
3. Da a analysis
The collec ed da a we e analyzed o de e mine he ac ual ime spen on each nu sing ac i i y, as well as he equency
o each ac i i y. The a e age ime alloca ed o each ask was also calcula ed. A o al o 54 nu sing ca e ac i i ies we e
documen ed using sel - epo ing o ms. These ac i i ies we e g ouped in o eigh dis inc ca ego ies, including
admission, discha ge, and ans e ; assessmen and planning; assis ing wi h diagnos ic p ocedu es; com o ca e; heal h
educa ion and counselling; hygienic ca e; eco ding and epo ing; and he apeu ic nu sing ca e. The da a we e
p ocessed using SPSS e sion 20 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL), wi h equency and pe cen age calcula ions used o illus a e
he p opo ion o ime dedica ed o each ac i i y.
4. Resul s
The s udy included 100 pa ien s wi h 40 di e en medical condi ions g ouped unde 7 majo diso de s admi ed in he
wa d, HDU and ICU o he medical uni . Table 1 gi es he pa ien in o ma ion. Majo i y o he pa ien s belong o he age
g oup o olde adul s (39%), we e male (60%) and p edominan ly had me abolic and espi a o y diso de s (42%).
Table 1 Demog aphic p o ile o he pa ien s
S.no
Cha ac e is ics
No.
%
1
Age
18 – 39
30
30
40 – 59
31
31
60 & abo e
39
39
2
Sex
Male
60
60
Female
40
40
3
Uni
Wa d
80
80
HDU
10
10
ICU
10
10
4
Disease condi ion
Ca diac and blood diso de s
16
16
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(02), 963-967
965
Me abolic diso de s
22
22
Respi a o y diso de s
20
20
In ec ious diseases
21
21
Elec oly e imbalance
5
5
Neu ological diso de s
5
5
Poisoning
11
11
The s udy e ealed ha he maximum ime was spen o he di ec nu sing ca e ac i i ies (85.44%) (see Figu e 1).
Majo p opo ion o he ime was used o he apeu ic nu sing ca e (59.32%) and minimal ime was spen on educa ing
and counselling (1.35%) he pa ien s (see Figu e 2).
Figu e 1 Time spen on di ec and indi ec nu sing ca e ac i i ies
Figu e 2 Time spen on a ious nu sing ca e ac i i ies
Wo ld Jou nal o Ad anced Resea ch and Re iews, 2025, 26(02), 963-967
966
5. Discussion
The p opo ion o ime nu ses spend on di ec pa ien ca e e sus indi ec ca e ac i i ies can a y based on ac o s such
as he heal hca e en i onmen , he speci ic nu sing ole, and pa ien equi emen s. Howe e , esea ch consis en ly
indica es ha di ec pa ien ca e ypically accoun s o a smalle sha e o nu sing ime compa ed o indi ec asks like
documen a ion, coo dina ion, and adminis a i e du ies. Con a y o hese indings, his s udy e ealed ha 85.44% o
nu sing ime was spen on di ec pa ien ca e ac i i ies, which di e ges om exis ing li e a u e. Fo ins ance, a s udy
by Aiken e al. (2019) ound ha only 30% o 40% o nu sing ime in hospi al se ings was dedica ed o di ec pa ien
ca e, wi h he emaining 60% o 70% alloca ed o indi ec asks such as adminis a i e wo k, documen a ion, ca e
coo dina ion, and communica ion wi h o he heal hca e p o ide s7. Simila ly, Es eban e al. (2017) obse ed ha in
in ensi e ca e uni s (ICUs), whe e ca e is mo e hands-on, 45% o nu sing ime in ol ed di ec pa ien ca e, while 55%
was spen on indi ec ac i i ies like documen a ion, in e disciplina y communica ion, and managing c i ical ca e
equipmen and supplies8.
I is impo an o no e ha he cu en s udy did no accoun o ce ain indi ec ac i i ies, such as ca e coo dina ion
and adminis a i e asks, as i ocused solely on nu sing ac i i ies in ol ing di ec and indi ec pa ien in e ac ions.
Addi ionally, many s udies classi y only he apeu ic nu sing ca e as di ec ca e, and in his con ex , he indings o his
s udy (59.32%) align wi h exis ing esea ch. S udies by Lake and F iese, McHugh e al., and o he s in gene al hospi al
se ings and ICUs ha e shown ha nu ses ypically spend app oxima ely 30% o 50% o hei ime on di ec ca e
ac i i ies7,8,9,10.
6. Conclusion
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Compliance wi h e hical s anda ds
Disclosu e o con lic o in e es
This a icle is pa o he Ph.D s udy which was app o ed by he IRB (min. No. 15106 (OBSERVE) da ed 21.12.2022)
S a emen o in o med consen
In o med consen was ob ained om all indi idual pa icipan s included in he s udy.
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