Table 2

Organisational and ward characteristics of nursing homes and hospitals, and individual characteristics of nurses in these organisations

CharacteristicsNursing homesHospitals
Organisation(n=19)(n=19)
 Number of wards per organisation, median (range)4 (1–12)29 (5–111)
 Workers (fte) per organisation, median (range)118 (26–400)1600 (393–3000)
 Patients per organisation, median (range)126 (68–320)453 (150–1070)
Ward(n=66)(n=96)
 Patients per ward, median (range)30 (12–74)19 (8–41)
 Nurses (fte) per ward, median (range)14 (4–62)22 (11–64)
 Ratio patient/fte nurses per ward, median (range)1.7 (0.3–7.8)1.0 (0.2–2.3)
 Ratio fte nurses per peer leader, median (range)9.7 (2.7–30.0)13.7 (5.5–64.0)
Individual(n=132)(n=211)
 Age, years, mean (SD)37 (13)33 (12)
 Gender, female, %92%91%
 Working experience (years), median (range)7 (0–43)6 (0–40)
 Back complaints in the past 12 months, %43%45%
 Any musculoskeletal complaints in the past 12 months, %58%65%
  • fte, full-time equivalent.