Survey of nurse anesthesia practice, education, and regulation in 96 countries.

In Phase I of this international study, we systematically identified, for the first time, that nurses were providing anesthesia services in more than 100 countries, which is about 60% of all member states of the World Health Organization. The purpose of Phase II reported here, was to describe nurse anesthesia practice, education, and regulation in those countries. Data were collected from 96 countries, in all world regions, and at four levels of development, then were analyzed for commonalties and differences. It was found that the use of nurses to provide anesthesia is not related to a country's level of development; nurses provide anesthesia in two thirds of developed, developing, and least developed countries, working with or without anesthesiologists. They perform all the critical tasks required in the administration of anesthesia. Nurse anesthetists worldwide are making a significant contribution to health. These data can serve as a basis for future decisions about human, fiscal, and government resources required to make anesthesia services available to each country's population. They can also provide opportunity to identify educational requirements to assure the safety and well-being of patients worldwide requiring anesthesia services.