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To explore the associations of (1) shift-to-shift Nurse Perceived Adequacy of Staffing Scale (NPASS) scores and (2) the relative contribution of individual NPASS items to nurse-perceived quality of care (NPQoC) and job enjoyment.
Multihospital prospective observational study.
The study was conducted across 15 medical, surgical or acute admission hospital wards in three teaching hospitals in the Netherlands. Vocationally and bachelor-trained nurses conducted 1550 measurements of perceived adequacy of staffing using the NPASS, NPQoC and job enjoyment in 797 shifts. Multilevel models were used to assess associations between NPASS scores and NPASS items and the outcome variables.
Higher NPASS scores were significantly associated with improved NPQoC and job enjoyment. An increase in 1.0 point NPASS score leads to an increase of 0.97 points in NPQoC and 1.04 points in job enjoyment. Of the NPASS items, energy level, adherence to protocols and the opportunity for adequate breaks had the most positive effect on both outcomes.
Perceived adequacy of staffing as measured by the NPASS is highly relevant for improvements in both NPQoC and job enjoyment.
Decision-makers on nurse staffing should incorporate the NPASS in staffing methods to ensure adequate staffing and the associated benefits. Policies that ensure adequate breaks, adherence to protocols and maintenance of nurses' energy levels during the shift should be implemented with special attention.
This study provides supportive evidence for incorporating nurses' perceived adequacy of staffing, as measured by the NPASS, to ensure adequate staffing. This is crucial for nurse retention, and therefore vital to maintaining accessible healthcare given the global nursing shortages.
The STROBE checklist was used to conduct and describe the study.
This study did not include patient or public involvement in its design, conduct or reporting.
Living with epilepsy, especially drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE), imposes several challenges for people diagnosed with the condition. These challenges include the physical and mental implications of epilepsy on both caregivers and patients with epilepsy. For the more than 120 000 individuals living with this neurological disorder in the Netherlands, along with their families, daily activities become hazardous, limited and costly, significantly affecting their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). As data on the burden of epilepsy in the Netherlands are lacking, studies attempting to capture the impact of epilepsy on individuals, caregivers and society are needed to enhance understanding and help address the burden of epileptic seizures.
The study is part of the AIM@EPILEPSY project. The project aims to develop a planning suite enabling cost-saving, minimally invasive treatment for epilepsy. By surveying 330 people with epilepsy and an anticipated sample of 150–200 informal caregivers across the Netherlands, using standardised questionnaires focusing on associated societal costs and the impact on HRQoL, this bottom-up, prevalence-based prospective study aims to understand the societal burden of DRE in the Netherlands. The data will be collected at 0, 3, 6 and 12 months of follow-up. The study results will describe the economic impact of epilepsy, focusing on cost-of-illness () and HRQoL (utilities) in the Netherlands.
The proposed study was approved by the Maastricht University Medical Ethics Review Committee (Approval reference: FHML-REC/2024/067/Amendment/2024_16). The result of the study is planned to be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at international and local scientific conferences.
Guidelines for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) dictate the initiation of conservative treatment (physical therapy, analgesics and intra-articular injections with corticosteroids) as a first line defence. When conservative treatment fails, the golden standard is invasive joint replacement surgery, but for a substantial group of patients who do not respond to the current conservative treatment, this is not (yet) indicated. The RADIOPHENOL study investigates if denervation of knee sensory (genicular) nerves can serve the gap between conservative and invasive treatment for younger patients and for patients who cannot undergo joint replacement surgery due to comorbid health conditions.
The RADIOPHENOL study is a multicentre unblinded randomised controlled trial with three parallel arms (1:1:1). In total, 192 patients with knee OA Kellgren-Lawrence grades 2–4 but not eligible for joint replacement according to the orthopaedic surgeon due to young age, old age and/or comorbidity or technical reasons are eligible and will be randomised to three groups of 64 patients. Group A: traditional radiofrequency ablation, group B: chemical neurolysis with phenol, group C: conservative medical management. Primary outcome is the Oxford Knee Score at 6 months. Secondary outcomes include Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, knee pain by numeric rating scale, physical functionality, health-related quality of life, mental health, change in medication use, predictive value of a diagnostic block, procedure time, patient discomfort score during the intervention and adverse events.
The protocol (V.2.0, 15 May 2023), was approved by the Ethics Committee of Amsterdam UMC (NL83410.018.22 – METC2022.0890) on 31 July 2023. We aim to publish our results in international peer-reviewed journals.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06094660, including the WHO Trial Registration data set items. Registered on 20 October 2023, first patient enrolled on 27 November 2023.
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