Table 2.

Nurse-sensitive indicators identified from the literature and classified as per the Donabedian quality framework (indicators have been extracted as reported in the literature, and indicators with similar definitions or measuring the same construct are included)

Outcome
Failure to rescue	Pain presence
Postoperative respiratory failure	Patient satisfaction with pain management
Patient complaints	Pain management/controlled
Patient satisfaction with educational information	Nurse staff satisfaction
Patient satisfaction with nursing care	Physical well-being
Patient satisfaction with overall care	Psychological wellbeing
Patients’ confidence in knowledge and skills of the nurse	Iatrogenic lung collapse
Patient’s sense of safety whilst under the care of the nurse	Atelectasis
aPatient involvement in decisions about their nursing care	Fluid overload
Respect from the nurse for patient’s preference and choice	Falls
Nurse’s support to patients to care for themselves, where appropriate	Injuries to patient
Nurse understanding of what is important to the patient	Patient’s falls with injuries in the hospital
Patient satisfaction with nurse communication	Staff injuries on the job
Patients experience of care	Knowledge, behaviour, status change scores
Patient/family complaints satisfaction	Physical and mental health change scores
Parent/family complaint rate	Follow-up rate to allergy risks
Patient judgement of hospital quality	Adverse drug reaction rate
Central line catheter-associated bloodstream infection	Total of prescription mistakes
Hospital-acquired pneumonia	Total of transfusion reaction
Respiratory tract infection	Upper GI bleeding
Nosocomial infection	Mortality
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP)	Shock/cardiac arrest
Wounds dressed	Deep vein thrombosis
Intravenous/vascular access infection	CNS complications
Thrombophlebitis	Deterioration
Vascular access infiltration	Complications
Vascular access thrombosis	Health status
Peripheral venous extravasation	Symptom management index
Hospital-acquired urinary tract infection	Symptom resolution
Urinary catheter-associated UTI	Metabolic derangement
Wound infection	Functional status
Surgical wound infection	Rate of accidental endotracheal extubation
Sepsis	Retinopathy of the preterm child (ROP)
Intravascular infiltration due to IV therapy	Heavy sedation
Gastrointestinal infection rate	Average hospital length of stay
Pressure ulcer prevalence	Vaccination
Psychiatric physical/sexual assault rate
Process
Wound care	Smoking cessation counselling
Skin integrity/pressure ulcer prevention	Smoking cessation counselling for heart failure
Decubitus prevention care	Smoking cessation counselling for pneumonia
The risk factors for pressure sores have been documented	Smoking cessation counselling for acute myocardial infarction (AMI)
Pain assessment with scale and recorded	Nursing care supervision
Chest-abdomen drain changed as by the protocol	Assessment and record reflex presence (e.g. ocular)
Chest-abdomen drain insertion area dressed as by guideline	Proper patient positioning in bed
Mechanical ventilation has been replaced according to protocols	Monitor alarms properly set
Body temperature values have been updated in the last 24 h	ABG result 1 hour after endotracheal tube removal is available
The pulse oximetry has been monitored and recorded	Endotracheal suctioning performed as per prescription and recorded
The ECG and vital signs have been recorded on admission	Hand washing and hand hygiene
Measuring of patient observations (vital signs)	Documentation of results
Fluid intake and output have recorded	Number of patient transfers
Patient washing once a day and recorded	Double-checking of all medication by two nurses
Patient mouth washing as by ward procedure and recorded	Weight documentation daily
aAssisting a patient with activities of daily living	Relative/parent notification of patients transfer
aInstructing patient about self-care	Unplanned admission
aBeing honest with a patient	Interprofessional relations
aKeeping relatives informed about a patient	Emergency care
aProviding privacy for a patient	Discharge and case management
aGetting to know the patient as a person	Appraisal and induction
aGiving reassurances about a clinical procedure	Nurses’ compliance in filling of medical records
Information and involvement of family into the end of life care by nurses	aListening to a patient
Physical and chemical restraint	aExplaining a clinical procedure to a patient
aMedication errors	aBeing with a patient during a clinical procedure
Antithrombotic therapy given and recorded at the correct time	aConsulting with a doctor
aReporting a patient’s condition to a senior nurse	aObserving the effects of medication on a patient
Structure
Satisfaction questionnaire about work periodically administered to nurses	level of education and work experiences of nurse managers
Total nursing care hours provided per patient day	Nursing continuing education
Skill mix (mix of RNs, LPNS and unlicensed staff)	In-service education hours for nursing staff per year
Number of nurses per patient	Educational materials for nurses in the hospital (library, internet, etc.)
Working hours of nursing staff	Organisational goal setting
Proportion of nurses working more than 3 years (nurses experience)	Nursing job description
Nurse bed care ratio	Organisational budgeting for patient safety
Voluntary nurse staff turnover rates	Patient waiting time for nursing care
Patient to nurse ratio	Nursing care standards in hospitals
Nurse vacancy rate	Safety environment for nurses in hospital
Overtime	Practice environment scale-Nursing Work Index
Understaffing as compared to the organisation’s plan	Noise
On-call or per diem use	Emergency equipment/drugs available
Sick time	Total volume of laundry per patient
Agency staff use	Visitation policy
Staffing level of education	Absenteeism

^aIndicators used to measure nursing quality from a nurse or patient perspective