1. Nurse Staffing and Healthcare-Associated Infection, Unit-Level Analysis.
- Author
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Shang, Jingjing, Needleman, Jack, Liu, Jianfang, Larson, Elaine, and Stone, Patricia W.
- Subjects
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CROSS infection , *BACTEREMIA , *CHI-squared test , *CONFIDENCE intervals , *HOSPITAL care , *HOSPITAL wards , *INTENSIVE care units , *MEDICAL records , *NOSOCOMIAL infections , *NURSES , *PERSONNEL management , *PNEUMONIA , *QUESTIONNAIRES , *RESEARCH funding , *SHIFT systems , *SURVIVAL analysis (Biometry) , *T-test (Statistics) , *URINARY tract infections , *COMORBIDITY , *HOSPITAL observation units , *CROSS-sectional method , *PROPORTIONAL hazards models , *NURSE-patient ratio , *DESCRIPTIVE statistics , *HOSPITAL nursing staff , *DISEASE risk factors - Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine whether healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and nurse staffing are associated using unit-level staffing data. BACKGROUND: Previous studies of the association between HAIs and nurse staffing are inconsistent and limited by methodological weaknesses. METHODS: Cross-sectional data between 2007 and 2012 from a large urban hospital system were analyzed. HAIs were diagnosed using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Healthcare Safety Network definitions. We used Cox proportional-hazards regression model to examine the association of nurse staffing (2 days before HAI onset) with HAIs after adjusting for individual risks. RESULTS: Fifteen percent of patient-days had 1 shift understaffed, defined as staffing below 80% of the unit median for a shift, and 6.2% had both day and night shifts understaffed. Patients on units with both shifts understaffed were significantly more likely to develop HAIs 2 days later. CONCLUSIONS: Understaffing is associated with increased risk of HAIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
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