Changes in patient health outcomes from admission to discharge in acute care

Clinical databases comprising data that are available at a national level provide the opportunity to explore the relationships between nursing interventions and patient health outcomes. This research examined baseline and changes in patient health outcomes between admission and discharge using data from 59,157 acute-care hospital-based patient records at 44 hospitals in Canada. Statistically significant improvements in all of the health outcomes were noted, with the exception of pressure ulcers. The standardized indicators offer a mechanism for evaluating the effectiveness and quality of nursing care interventions.