Roles of nurse aides and family members in acute patient care in Taiwan

To improve the nursing care quality in acute care hospitals in Taiwan after the 2003 SARS epidemic, the Taipei City Government Department of Health has allocated about US $6 million for nurse aides' salaries and costs for recruitment, training, and administration of this program. Yet, there have been no corresponding changes in payments for nursing services by the National Health Insurance system in Taiwan such as increasing nurse fees for inpatient services. This article examines the roles of nurse aides and family members in providing acute patient care in Taiwan and discusses issues of nursing care quality as related to nurse staffing in acute care hospitals.