Research on Safe Staffing
Over the past year, WSNA has collected and synthesized the evidence-based data on
nurse staffing, conducted nine regional workshops across the state on the history
and development of the nurse staffing outcomes data, our recently passed legislation
and the legislation and regulation being considered and passed in other states.
- In a major study, risk of patient mortality within 30 days of admission among surgical
patients was found to increase by an average of 7% for every additional patient
in a nurses’ patient assignments
- Inadequate staffing was found to be a contributing factor in 24% of all unanticipated
events that resulted in patient death, injury, or permanent loss of function
- A higher proportion of hours of registered nursing care per day are associated with
better outcomes for hospitalized and these outcomes can result in significant cost-savings
to the system.
Background
During the 1990s, many hospitals, facing new financial pressures resulting from
the rapid growth and adoption of managed care payment mechanisms, underwent a radical
restructuring of their operations. This often included a reorganization of patient
care services, including a decreased reliance on registered nurses and increased
use of unlicensed assistive nursing personnel. Many nursing organizations raised
concerns about the effects of the use of largely untested new models of care on
patient care quality and safety. There was very little data available to identify
or quantify these effects.
Today, the research landscape for nurse staffing is different, with a growing number
of studies examining the relationship between staffing and outcomes. The emergence
of a large-scale nursing shortage has shifted the context of much of this research—from
evaluating management practices regarding nurse staffing, to understanding the potential
impact of a long-term shortage of registered nurses. We’ve compiled a list of links
and references for further reading.
Links and References
WSNA's Nursing Practice
Blog
Visit WSNA's Nursing Practice Blog for additional articles relevant to this topic.
Resources re: Nurse Sensitive Outcome
Measures
References re: Measuring Intensity and Acuity
of Care
Safe Nurse Staffing – An Evidenced Based Approach
WSNA's overview of research on safe nurse staffing with brief descriptions of several
dozen studies. Also includes a full bibliography with information on all of the
selected studies.
Selected Bibliography & Further Reading
Includes links information on further reading and links to selected news articles,
studies, and websites with additional information on safe nurse staffing.
Nurse Staffing – A Summary of Current Research, Opinion and Policy
Prepared by Pamela H. Mitchell, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN, Professor and Associate Dean
for Research, University of Washington School of Nursing
http://ruckelshauscenter.wsu.edu/projects/documents/NurseStaffingfinal.pdf
