Safe staffing - Conceptions of primary health care nurses

Aim. To know the conceptions that nurses, from Primary Health Care clinical practice, have of Safe Nurse Staffing. Safe Staffing is related to safe, high quality, high complexity care, in a variety of contexts. It is well established that safe nurse staffing and the quality of the practice environment are directly associated with client satisfaction, quality and safety of care, and nursing care-sensitive outcomes2. Methods. A descriptive exploratory study of a qualitative nature was carried out, using a questionnaire with open-ended questions. An intentional sample consisting of twenty five nurses was selected. The technique of content analysis7 was used for data analysis and treatment. Results. Seven categories were identified (and respective subcategories): Safety of Care; Workload; Training and Professional Development; Quality of Care; Client Characteristics; Organizational Environment; Outcomes. These results allow stating that the nurses interviewed conceive the concept of Safe Staffing, on their work context, in accordance with the dimensions described by Aiken and collaborators1,2,3. Conclusion. Nurses’ conceptions of Safe Staffing integrate fundamental aspects associated with this concept, and may influence the strategies developed within the scope of clinical governance.