In the nursing care of critically ill patients the use of instruments capable of quantifying the demand for care is fundamental for the adequacy of nursing staff and thereby improves the quality of care and planning. Thus, the aim was to evaluate the demand for nursing care by the application of the Nursing Activities Score (NAS) in two intensive care units of a public hospital in Teresina, Piauí. This was a descriptive retrospective and quantitative study, conducted from September to October/2011. There was a sample of 45 patients, mostly female (64.4%), with an average age of 51.4 years old. There were 328 measurements carried out from NAS, we obtained an average total score of 67.3%, ranging from 39.2% to 133.7%, and items related to the categories "Basic Activities", "Administrative and managerial tasks" and "Respiratory support" as highest scores. It is concluded that these clients had severe need for care, reflected by the high NAS average, representing a good tool to manage human resources in nursing.
Nursing; Intensive Care Unit; Nursing Care
