Is the National Early Warning Score able to identify nursing activity load? A prospective observational study.

Background: The National Early Warning Score scale correlates well with the intensity of the patient's acute condition. It could also correlate with the nursing activity load and prove useful in defining and redistributing nursing resources based on the acuity of patients.

Aim: To assess whether patients' National Early Warning Score at hospital admission correlates with objective nursing demands and can be used to optimize the distribution of available care resources.

Real requirements of nursing activities and patient-related factors related to nursing overload in an internal medicine department.

Adequate nursing care can be decisive for the outcome of a patient admitted to an internal medicine ward. Individual prediction of nursing activity at the time of a patient's admission could improve the work process. This study aimed to assess the objectively assessed nursing requirements of patients admitted to a medical setting and to identify clinical factors that correlate with high demands.