“…Patient characteristic variables, such as health status and morbidity, also can affect nursing care (Doran et al, 2006) and outcomes (Irvine et al, 2000;Doran et al 2006;Tourangeau et al, 2007). The patient characteristic variables of interest in this study were client age, gender, medical diagnoses, and length on service and were primarily included as control variables because they reflect clients' potential for improved outcomes (Doran et al, 2006;Stevens, Ryan, & Kresnow, 2006;Doran et al, 2013). Nurses' role (i.e., nursing process) has three subcomponents: nurses' independent role, nurses' dependent role, and nurses' interdependent role.…”