NURSE'S WORKLOAD CAN MEAN LIFE, DEATH

TO PATIENT: [REGION EDITION]

Bellandi, Deanna

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ABSTRACT (ABSTRACT)
In the study, researchers used surveys from 10,184 Pennsylvania nurses and examined the outcomes of 232,342
patients who underwent general, orthopedic or vascular surgery in 168 hospitals in the state. The patients
underwent the procedures between April 1998 and November 1999.

"I think this latest study helps cement the case for implementing safe nurse-to-patient ratios in Pennsylvania
hospitals," said Neal Bisno, vice president of the state's largest nurses union, District 1199P of the Service
Employees International Union.

The study also echoes findings of the union's own survey of more than 600 nurses in Allegheny and five surrounding
counties last spring. That survey found that 3 out of 4 nurses said their hospital units were understaffed, and that
each nurse is caring for more and sicker patients than five years ago.

TRANSLATED ABSTRACT (SUMMARY)

Dalam studi tersebut, para peneliti menggunakan survei dari 10.184 perawat Pennsylvania dan memeriksa hasil dari
232.342 pasien yang menjalani operasi umum, ortopedi atau vaskular di 168 rumah sakit di negara bagian tersebut.
Para pasien menjalani prosedur antara April 1998 dan November 1999 . “Saya pikir studi terbaru ini membantu
memperkuat kasus untuk menerapkan rasio perawat-ke-pasien yang aman di rumah sakit Pennsylvania,” kata Neal
Bisno, wakil presiden serikat perawat terbesar di negara bagian itu, Distrik 1199P dari Service Employee
International Union. Studi ini juga menggemakan temuan survei serikat pekerja sendiri terhadap lebih dari 600
perawat di Allegheny dan lima kabupaten sekitarnya musim semi lalu. Survei itu menemukan bahwa 3 dari 4
perawat mengatakan unit rumah sakit mereka kekurangan staf, dan bahwa setiap perawat merawat pasien yang
lebih banyak dan lebih sakit daripada lima tahun lalu.

FULL TEXT
Post-Gazette Science Editor Byron Spice contributed to this report.

Amid concerns over a nationwide nurse shortage, a new study finds that the number of patients under a nurse's care
can be a matter of life or death.

University of Pennsylvania researchers found that patients had a greater chance of dying following surgery in
hospitals where the nurses had to care for more patients, according to a study published in today's Journal of the
American Medical Association.

A heavy workload also meant that nurses were more likely to be burned out and unhappy with their jobs.

Researchers suggested that improving nurse staffing levels not only would reduce patient deaths, but also would
keep nurses on the job at a time when hospitals nationwide are struggling to fill nursing positions.

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In the study, researchers found that each additional patient in a nurse's workload translated to about a 7 percent
increase in the likelihood the patient would die within 30 days of admission. For example, the difference between
four and six patients per nurse translated to a 14 percent increase in mortality, while the difference between four and
eight patients increased the likelihood of dying by 31 percent, researchers found.

"To have more nurses is to have better patient outcomes," said lead researcher and nurse Linda Aiken, director of
the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing.

In the study, researchers used surveys from 10,184 Pennsylvania nurses and examined the outcomes of 232,342
patients who underwent general, orthopedic or vascular surgery in 168 hospitals in the state. The patients
underwent the procedures between April 1998 and November 1999.

The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research at the National Institutes of Health.

To the American Nurses Association, it confirmed what nurses have been saying all along: They make a difference.
"When a nurse can't be there to see the subtle changes that happen in patients and intervene when those changes
are subtle, then patients are going to get into real serious crises, and by the time they are in those crises, we may
not be able to save them," ANA President Barbara Blakeney said.

The study doesn't suggest how many nurses are needed to care for patients, or whether there is a maximum
number of patients per nurse that hospitals should never exceed.

In the study, researchers gave a nod to California, which passed legislation in 1999 mandating nurse staffing
requirements, calling it a credible approach to reducing patient deaths and retaining nurses at hospitals.

In Pennsylvania, state Rep. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, and state Sen. Allyson Schwartz, D-Philadelphia,
introduced legislation last spring that, like California's law, would set minimum nurse staffing levels for hospitals.

"I think this latest study helps cement the case for implementing safe nurse-to-patient ratios in Pennsylvania
hospitals," said Neal Bisno, vice president of the state's largest nurses union, District 1199P of the Service
Employees International Union.

The study also echoes findings of the union's own survey of more than 600 nurses in Allegheny and five surrounding
counties last spring. That survey found that 3 out of 4 nurses said their hospital units were understaffed, and that
each nurse is caring for more and sicker patients than five years ago.

Last year, the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses &Allied Professionals found that 46 percent of 6,000 nurses
surveyed planned to leave nursing entirely.

But legislating nurse staffing levels isn't the only remedy. "A more basic way is to look at the issues and say we have
to make this a more appealing work environment, so we can attract men and women into nursing," said Dr. Thomas
Russell, executive director of the American College of Surgeons.

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 Publication title: Pittsburgh Post - Gazette; Pittsburgh, Pa.

Pages: A-3

Number of pages: 0

Publication year: 2002

Publication date: Oct 23, 2002

Dateline: CHICAGO

Section: NATIONAL

Publisher: Pittsburgh Post - Gazette

Place of publication: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Country of publication: United States, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Publication subject: General Interest Periodicals--United States

ISSN: 1068624X

Source type: Newspaper

Language of publication: English

Document type: NEWSPAPER

ProQuest document ID: 391123722

Document URL: https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/nurses-workload-can-mean-life-death-

patient/docview/391123722/se-2?accountid=187856

Copyright: Copyright Post Gazette Publishing Company Oct 23, 2002

Last updated: 2017-11-06

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