Abstract:



Introduction:

Delays in the delivery of patient care is among the most common errors that threaten patient safety that increases mortality and hospital costs. This study was carried out with the aim of determining the incidence of delay in the delivery of patient care and investigating its relationship with nurses’ working environment.

Materials and Methods:

This is a correlative study.  Through a stratified sampling method, 300 nurses were selected from selected hospitals affiliated with Tehran university of Medical sciences. Data were collected by a three questionnaires consisted of demographic data questionnaire, nurses’ working environment Index questionnaire and delay in the delivery of patient care questionnaire.  Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 16, Pearson and Kruskal-Wallis test and t-test.

Results:

The mean of delay incidence in a three-month span for each nurse was (21.54 ± 9.92) (high) and the mean for nurses’ working conditions was (67.34 ± 14.8) (desirable). No statically significant relationship was found between nurses’ demographic characteristics and the incidence of delay in giving care to. A statistically significant correlation was observed between the delays in providing care and nurses’ working conditions (p<0.005)(r=0.3).

Conclusion:

Delay in the delivery of care to patients is a common error in health centers. Given the significant relationship between the incidence of delay in providing care to patients and nurses’ work environment, it seems essential that managers make effective strategies to improve working conditions for nurse.