Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing (대한간호학회지)

Korean Society of Nursing Science (한국간호과학회)
권호 표지

Variations in Nurse Staffing in Adult and Neonatal Intensive Care Units

의료기관 및 중환자실 특성에 따른 간호사 배치수준

  • Cho Sung-Hyun (Department of Nursing, Hanyang University) ;
  • Hwang Jeong-Hae (Center for Quality Evaluation and Improvement, Health Insurance Review Agency) ;
  • Kim Yun-Mi (Department of Nursing, Seoul Health College) ;
  • Kim Jae-Sun (Center for Quality Evaluation and Improvement, Health Insurance Review Agency)
  • 조성현 (한양대학교 간호학과) ;
  • 황정해 (건강보험심사평가원 평가실) ;
  • 김윤미 (서울보건대학 간호과) ;
  • 김재선 (건강보험심사평가원 평가실)
  • Published : 2006.08.01
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Abstract

Purpose: This study was done to analyze variations in unit staffing and recommend policies to improve nursing staffing levels in intensive care units (ICUS). Method: A cross-sectional study design was used, employing survey data from the Health Insurance Review Agency conducted from June-July, 2003. Unitstaffing was measured using two indicators; bed-to-nurse (B/N) ratio (number of beds per nurse), and patient-to-nurse (P/N) ratio (number of average daily patients per nurse). Staffing levels were compared according to hospital and ICU characteristics. Result: A total of 414 institutions were operating 569 adult and 86 neonatal ICUs. Tertiary hospitals (n=42) had the lowest mean B/N (0.82) and P/N (0.76) ratios in adult ICUs, followed by general hospitals (B/N: 1.34, P/N: 0.97). Those ratios indicated that a nurse took care of 3 to 5 patients per shift. Neonatal ICUs had worse staffing and had greater variations in stafnng ratios than adult ICUs. About 17% of adult and 26% of neonatal ICUs were staffed only by adjunct nurses who had responsibility for a general ward as well as the ICU Conclusion: Stratification of nurse staffing levels and differentiation of ICU utilization fees based on staffing grades are recommended as a policy tool to improve nurse staffing in ICUs.

Keywords

References

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