Determining Optimal Nursing Resources in Relation to Functions During the Oulu University Hospital Nurse Staffing Management Project

The Oulu University Hospital's staffing management project sought information on the number of nursing staff in relation to treatment days and visits, using existing indicators to describe the activities involved. The retrospective data obtained was compared to human resources and the personnel structure. On this basis an optimal number of staff was determined for the units, taking account of a range of explanatory indicator data. The project made use of the computational model for nurse staffing and the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) method. The project provided extensive information on human resources issues within the units. Its results indicated the differences between wards with respect to the number and structure of resources. In addition, the nurse administrators lacked skills in gathering and using data from administrative datasets. This information will provide support for the further development of nursing operations and nursing management decision-making.

The relationship between anthropometric factors and body-balancing movements in postural balance

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relationship between anthropometric characteristics and body-balancing movements when standing on 2 legs with eyes open and eyes closed.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

SETTING

A university physiatry laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS

One hundred randomly selected subjects (50 men, 50 women; age range, 31-80y).

INTERVENTIONS

Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Anthropomorphic: body height, weight, lower-extremity distances, foot lengths, and widest widths of the forefeet and heels. Body movements: 2-legged stance with eyes open and eyes closed, measured with the MacReflex Motion Capture System and calculated as maximal and total movements in 3 dimensions. The relation between the measured anthropometric characteristics and body-balancing movements was calculated by using regression analysis.

RESULTS

In the eyes-open condition, maximal lateral knee movement was related to body height and foot length (R(2)=.065, P<.05). Both anteroposterior (AP) head movement (R(2)=.068, P<.05) and AP navel movement (R(2)=.083, P<.05) were related to heel width. AP knee movement was related to foot length and heel width (R(2)=.089, P<.05). Body mass index was related to AP ankle movement (R(2)=.074, P<.05) and to vertical ankle movement (R(2)=.063, P<.05). In the eyes-closed condition, body mass index was related to the vertical navel movement (R(2)=.059, P<.05) and body height to AP knee movement (R(2)=.041, P<.05).

CONCLUSION

The levels of significance are not high but warrant attention. It seems that there was no single anthropometric factor that explained the variations in body-balancing movements during standing.

Motion analysis measurements of body movements during standing: association with age and sex

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between balancing movements and age and sex in standing on two legs with the eyes open and closed using the motion analysis system. The collected data may help in developing balance evaluation and training in rehabilitation. The study sample consisted of 100 healthy, randomly selected people from the City of Oulu (men and women aged 31 to 80 years). The participants were divided into 10 groups by age decade and sex. The body movements in standing on two legs with the eyes open and closed were measured with the Mac Reflex motion analysis system (Qualisys AB, Partille, Sweden) and calculated as maximal anterior-posterior and total movements. The associations between movement values and age and sex were analysed. During standing on two legs with the eyes open, there was a statistically significant difference in the maximal anterior-posterior head movement between the age groups (P < 0.05) but the results did not show any other statistically significant differences between the balancing movements of the separate body parts of the groups or between the balance measurement values of men and women in standing on two legs with the eyes open and closed. In standing on two legs with the eyes closed all the measured body parts moved more than in standing with the eyes open (P < 0.001). It was concluded that healthy men and women seem to control their steady standing position with quite similar ranges of body adjustment. Standing balance control should also possibly be evaluated and trained in more difficult circumstances, because some changes do not necessarily appear in easier balance tasks or performance.