Assessment of Time Management in Iranian Critical Care Nurses: Predictive Factors

Background: Time management is significantly important in nursing, because wasting time and inappropriate management have negative effects on patients’ health. Objectives: The present study aimed at determining the rate of time management in Iranian critical care nurses and its related factors. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on critical care nurses of hospitals affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences in 2016. Of 500 nurses from all the selected hospitals, 410 ones accepted to participate in the study, with response rate of 91.1%. The instruments for data collection were demographic characteristics and time management questionnaires. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistic tests (Pearson correlation, one-way ANOVA, independent sample t test, and General Linear Model). Results: In this study, 100 male (24.39%) and 310 female nurses (75.6%) took part, with the average age of 37.58 ± 7.37 (CI95: 36.82 38.33). The rate of time management in the nurses under the study was 107.68 ± 18.011 (CI95: 105.83 109.54). Moreover, 35 (8.5%), 275 (67.07%), and 100 nurses (24.39%) had low, medium and good levels of time management, respectively. A significant relationship was observed between time management and age (r = 0.506, P < 0.001), educational level (t = 2.06, P = 0.003), and gender (t = 1.583, P = 0.03). Conclusions: Time management is necessary for medical workers, especially nurses. Also, it would be interesting to conduct comparative cultural studies to better evaluate time management.