Nurses' attitudes towards cost-effectiveness and quality of care.

OBJECTIVE

To describe nurses' attitudes toward cost-effectiveness in nursing practice and its perceived effects on quality of care, and to examine the influence of role, education, and experience on these attitudes.

DESIGN

A comparative, descriptive design was used.

SETTING

Two community hospitals in the midwest.

SUBJECTS

Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Blaney Hobson Nursing Attitude Scale was used to measure nurses' attitudes toward cost-effectiveness. Demographic information was obtained by asking open-ended questions. Scores ranged from 30 to 96, with a mean score of 65.57 (SD = 13.58).

CONCLUSIONS

Nurses with greater than 10 years experience had more positive attitudes than nurses with 10 years or less experience. Nurses in administration/management positions had more positive attitudes than did staff nurses. No significant correlation was found between education level and attitudes toward cost-effectiveness. The major concern of participants was that quality of care would suffer due to cost containment efforts. The majority of participants agreed that education in cost containment and budgetary issues should begin in basic nursing school and should be included in employer orientation programs.