Background: Nursing Activities Score (NAS) is a promising tool for calculating the nursing workload in intensive care units (ICU). However, data on intensive care nursing activities in Portugal are practically non-existent.Aim: To assess the nursing workload in a Portuguese ICU using the NAS.Study Design: Retrospective cohort study developed throughout the analysis of the electronic health record database from 56 adult patients admitted to a six-bed Portuguese ICU between 1 June-31 August 2020. The nursing workload was assessed by the Portuguese version of the NAS. The study was approved by the Hospital Council Board and Ethics Committee. The study report followed the STROBE guidelines.
Results:The average occupancy rate was 73.55% (±16.60%). The average nursing workload per participant was 67.52 (±10.91) points. There was a correlation between the occupancy rate and the nursing workload. In 35.78% of the days, the nursing workload was higher than the available human resources, overloading nurse staffing/team.
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