Introduction:

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on the healthcare sector, particularly in the intensive care and respiratory areas. Nurses working in these areas have experienced work overload that has had a negative impact on quality of care and patient safety.

Objective:

To assess nursing workload during the care of COVID-19 patients in two respiratory units using the Nursing Activities Score (NAS).

Methodology:

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out. Sociodemographic variables and NAS scores were analyzed. Results: A study was conducted, including 452 patients hospitalized in respiratory care units due to COVID-19. The mean age in the group with low NAS scores was 57.6 ± 19.8 years, while in the group with high NAS scores it was 60.3 ± 21.7 years. Statistical analysis revealed that a high NAS score was associated with the presence of comorbidities, a prolonged hospital stay, and a higher mortality rate, with a p value of less than 0.00.

Discussion:

These results suggest that patients with COVID-19 exhibit similar clinical and demographic characteristics worldwide and that the existence of pre-existing conditions and length of hospitalization could be crucial elements influencing the severity of the condition and mortality rate.

Conclusions:

The COVID-19 patient population in this study presented clinical and demographic particularities similar to previous research on the disease. The presence of pre-existing diseases, hospitalization time, and mortality were related to high NAS in this population.