Differences in health, productivity and quality of care in younger and older nurses.

AIM To determine if younger and older hospital employed nurses have differences in their self-reported health, health related productivity and quality of care. BACKGROUND An understanding of age cohort differences may assist nurse managers in understanding the health related productivity and potential quality of care concerns of their staff. METHOD A cross-sectional survey design was utilised. There were 1171 usable surveys returned (47% response rate). Nurses over the age of 50 made up 26% of the respondents. RESULT Older nurses had a higher body mass index (BMI), higher mental well-being, higher pain scores, a 12% higher prevalence of having health problems, and reported a higher health related productivity loss than younger nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Nurse managers must determine if their older nurses are being given more difficult, complex patients because of their experience. Perhaps older nurses, especially those with health problems, need assignments that require their assessment and critical thinking skills rather than their strength and physical abilities.