Paving the Way to Nurse Case Management in the Prison Setting: Development of a Research Instrument

Abstract

Developing and justifying an expanded nursing role, that of the nurse case manager, presents a challenge for the nurse administrator in the prison setting. The author, with the assistance of correctional nursing supervisors, developed a research instrument to review surgical patient medical records to determine possible need of this new position. The Surgical Health Record Instrument evaluates lengths of hospital stay, possible duplication of services, and quality of care issues. The reliability of the research instrument was determined using Cronbach’s alpha and eta-squared analyses. A pilot study of 20 surgical patients was then conducted, with the results indicating need for a nurse case manager to perform the functions of utilization review, patient teaching, and medications management. Further study is indicated to develop and implement this new role.

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