Hospitals' organizational variables and patients' perceptions of individualized nursing care in Finland

Aim: To examine the association between hospitals' organizational variables and patients' perceptions of individualized care. Background: There is lack of evidence related to the effects that the hospital environment has on patient perceptions of the individuality of care they receive. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. The questionnaire survey data were obtained from 861 (response rate 82%) hospital patients and 35 (100%) nurse managers in Finland. Results: An inverse relationship between the size of the hospital and ward and patients' perceptions of individualized care was found. Increased staffing or skill mix failed to predict a higher patient perception of individualized care, but primary nursing care delivery did. Conclusions: Instead of increasing the amount of nursing staff, there is a need to improve the quality of the nurse-patient interactions to facilitate individualized care. The generalizability of the study is limited by the regional nature of the setting. Journal compilation 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.