Effects of Nurse Staffing on Surgical Patient-Outcomes with Cerebrovascular Disease in General Hospitals

Abstract

This study was to examine the relationships between nurse staffing and patient outcomes. Data for this study were obtained from the '2008 Korea National Patients Survey' conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. Hospital characteristics included size, location, ownership, and physician staffing. Patient characteristics were age, gender, primary diagnosis, admission route, type of surgery, and primary payer. Nurse staffing was not significantly associated with inpatient mortality. Government and nursing policies are required to ensure adequate nurse staffing in hospitals. This study aims to objectively examine the influences of nurse staffing on patient outcomes through multilevel analysis of large-scale national data and controlling factors that affect patient outcomes patient standards. The results concluded from this study will provide evidence for the importance of the nation and medical institution's awareness on nurse staffing and adequate maintenance and management, and will contribute to the establishment of adequate government policies regarding nursing staff in the long term. The purpose of the study is to analyze the relationship between nurse staffing and surgical cerebrovascular disease patient outcomes (mortality). The concrete aims of the study are as follows: 1) Comprehend characteristics of hospitals and patients, and identify nurse staffing 2) Analyze the relationship between nurse staffing and the mortality of surgical cerebrovascular disease patients.