• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.138-149
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• 2011

Purpose: The objective of this research was to explore levels of patient safety and safe nursing activities depending on the level of nurse staffing, in order to provide effective management of nurse personnel. Methods: The research was conducted with 455 nurses from eight hospitals in B city. Data were collected according to the level of nurse personnel from second (nurse vs. patient ratio of 2.0-2.5) to fifth (ratio of 3.5-4.0) rank. The survey tools were, 'Questionnaire on Patient Safety, a Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture developed by AHRQ (2007), and 'Questionnaire on Patient Safety Nursing Act, in which the questions were selected from nursing-related items (Medication 6 & Safety Nursing Assurance Act 4) in the Safety Evaluation developed by Evaluation Institute of Medical Institution. Data were analyzed with SPSS PC 12.0 program using descriptive statistics, $x^2$ test, ANCOVA and $Scheff{\grave{e}}$. Results: The nurses' overall cognition level on patient safety and safe nursing activities showed that nurses who are in the second and third rank had higher scores than those in lower ranks. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that hospitals need a higher ratio level for nurse personnel in order to assure patient safety and safe nursing activities.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.98-108
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• 2007

Purpose: The objective of this research was to explore the levels of patient satisfaction and job satisfaction according to the level of nurse manpower, in order to provide effective management for nurses. Methods: The research was conducted from November 1 to December 30, 2006, with a survey of 310 nurses and 240 patients at eight tertiary hospitals in Seoul. Data were collected according to the level of nurse manpower from the first (a nurse vs. patient ratio of below 2.0) to the sixth (a ratio of over 4.0) rank. The survey tools were used Park-Yoon's job satisfaction (1992) and Wandelt and Ager (1974)'s patient satisfaction. The acquired data were analyzed with SPSS $PC^+$ 12.0 program using descriptive methods, ${\chi}^2$ test, ANCOVA, and Scheffe. Results: Overall job satisfaction of nurses showed 3.10 and patient satisfaction of patients showed 4.15. Analysis based on the level of nurse manpower showed that hospitals of first and second rank had higher scores than those of lower rank for nurse's job satisfaction and patient satisfaction. Conclusion: Hospitals with a higher level of nurse manpower showed higher score of nurse's job satisfaction and patient satisfaction.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.333-348
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• 2020

Purpose: The present study investigated the association between nurse staffing and health outcomes among psychiatric inpatients in Korea by assessing National Health Insurance claims data. Methods: The dataset included 70,136 patients aged 19 years who were inpatients in psychiatric wards for at least two days in 2016 and treated for mental and behavioral disorders due to use of alcohol; schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders; and mood disorders across 453 hospitals. Nurse staffing levels were measured in three ways: registered nurse-to-inpatient ratio, registered nurse-to-adjusted inpatient ratio, and nursing staff-to-adjusted inpatient ratio. Patient outcomes included length of stay, readmission within 30 days, psychiatric emergency treatment, use of injected psycholeptics for chemical restraint, and hypnotics use. Relationships between nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes were analyzed considering both patient and system characteristics using multilevel modeling. Results: Multilevel analyses revealed that more inpatients per registered nurse, adjusted inpatients per registered nurse, and adjusted inpatients per nursing staff were associated with longer lengths of stay as well as a higher risk of readmission. More adjusted inpatients per registered nurse and adjusted inpatients per nursing staff were also associated with increased hypnotics use but a lower risk of psychiatric emergency treatment. Nurse staffing levels were not significantly associated with the use of injected psycholeptics for chemical restraint. Conclusion: Lower nurse staffing levels are associated with negative health outcomes of psychiatric inpatients. Policies for improving nurse staffing toward an optimal level should be enacted to facilitate better outcomes for psychiatric inpatients in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.327-335
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• 2011

Purpose: The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of medical staffing level as bed-to-medical staff ratio on patient outcomes as length of stay (LOS) among hospitals in Korea. Methods: Two hundred and fifty one hospitals participated in the study between January and March 2008. Data for the study was requested by an electronic data interchange from the Health Insurance Review Agency in 2008. In data analysis, SPSS WIN 15.0 program was utilized for descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression. Results: The mean score for length of stay was 13.6 days. The mean of operating bed-to-nurse ratio was 7.93:1. The predicting factors for LOS were bed-to-nurse's aide ratio, bed-to doctor's ratio, severely ill patient rate, and hospital type. These factors explained 28.9% of the variance in patient outcomes. Conclusion: This study results indicate that the relationship between medical staffing level and patient outcomes is important in the improvement of the quality of patient care. Thus, improvements in the quality of the nurse practice environment could improve patient outcomes for hospitalized patients.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between the nurse staffing level and the patient mortality using Korean National Health Insurance data. Methods: The data of 1,068,059 patients from 913 hospitals between 2015 and 2016 were analyzed. The nurse staffing level was categorized based on the bed-to-nurse ratio in general wards, intensive care units (ICUs), and hospitals overall. The x² test and generalized estimating equations (GEE) multilevel multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to explore in-hospital mortality and 30-day mortality after admission. Results: The in-hospital mortality rate was 2.9% and 30-day mortality after admission rate was 3.0%. Odd Ratios (ORs) for in-hospital mortality were statistically lower in general wards with a bed-to-nurse ratio of less than 3.5 compared to that with 6.0 or more (OR=0.72, 95% CI=0.63~0.84) and in ICUs with a bed-to-nurse ratio of less than 0.88 compared to that with 1.25 or more (OR=0.78, 95% CI=0.66~0.92). ORs for 30-day mortality after admission were statistically lower in general wards with a bed-to-nurse ratio of less than 3.5 compared to that with 6.0 or more (OR=0.83, 95% CI=0.73~0.94) and in ICUs with a bed-to-nurse ratio of less than 0.63 compared to that with 1.25 or more (OR=0.85, 95% CI=0.72~1.00). Conclusion: To reduce the patient mortality, it is necessary to ensure a sufficient number of nurses by improving the nursing fee system according to the nurse staffing level.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.104-115
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• 2021

The purpose of this review was to systematically assess empirical studies on the relationship between nurse staffing and patient outcomes through systematic literature review. Peer-reviewed articles published between January 2009 and December 2018 were identified in CINAHL, Pubmed, EBSCOhost, RISS, and Dbpia databases. A total of 13 articles relating to nurse staffing and patient outcomes in Korea were systematically reviewed and analyzed. The review showed that better nurse staffing aligned with better patient outcomes. However, some studies did not directly correlate patient outcomes with nurse staffing. This is because each study examined varied aspects of nurse staffing and different patient outcomes. These inconsistent study results indicate that continuous study is required. There should be continued efforts to establish guidelines and strategies for deploying nurse staff by maintaining optimal patient-to-nurse ratio.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.71-81
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• 2008

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine the cause-effect and dynamic change mechanism among factors that affect calculation of the nursing workforce in the hemodialysis room and to establish a system dynamics model and create a strategic simulation to be used to increase efficiency in the clinical situation. Method: The system dynamics approach was adapted to build a simulation model for calculating the nursing workforce. The model was built using Vensim 5.0b DSS. Results: The results were as follows for Scenario A: The highest level of nursing service quality, patient satisfaction, and nurse satisfaction, and the lowest level of turnover intention is maintained when the ratio of patients to nurse is 3.5:1 compared to all other situations. Scenario B: At the ratio of patients to nurse 4.0:1 nursing service quality, patient satisfaction, and nurse satisfaction dropped slightly, and turnover intention also rose slightly. However with time the results showed improvement. Conclusion: In terms of economic efficiency in the hemodialysis room, the ratio of patients to nurse for the best nursing workforce should not exceed 4.0:1.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.719-729
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was done to examine relationships between nurse staffing level and postsurgical patient outcomes using inpatient database from the National Health Insurance. Methods: Records of 111,491 patients who received one of 12 types of surgery between January and December, 2009 were identified and analyzed in this study. Nurse staffing level was measured using adjusted nurse staffing grades from 0 to 7. Patient outcomes were defined as in-hospital mortality, or pneumonia, sepsis, or urinary tract infection after surgery. Logistic regression analyses estimated by Generalized Estimation Model, were used to analyze the association between nurse staffing level and patient outcomes. Results: An inverse relationship was found between nurse staffing and patient mortality. Compared with patients who were cared for in hospitals with the highest nurse staffing (Grades 0-1), increases in the odds of dying were found in those with Grades 6-7 [OR (odds ratio)=2.99, 95% CI (confidence interval)=1.94-4.60], those with Grades 4-5 (OR=1.78, 95% CI=1.24-2.57) and those with Grades 2-3 (OR=1.57, 95% CI=1.25-1.98). Lower nurse staffing level was also associated with higher number of cases in pneumonia and sepsis. Conclusion: Policies for providing adequate nurse staffing is required to enhance quality of care and lead to better perioperative patient outcomes.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aimed to estimate the appropriate nurse staffing ratio in intensive care units (ICUs) by measuring nursing workload based on patient's severity and needs, using the Korean Patient Classification System for critical care nurses. Methods: The data were collected from January 18 to February 29, 2016 using a standardized checklist by observation or self-report. During the study period, 723 patients were included to be categorized from I to IV using the patient classification system. Measurement of total nursing workload on a shift was calculated in terms of hours based on the time and motion method by using tools for surveying nursing activities. The nursing activities were categorized as direct nursing care, indirect nursing care, and personal time. Total of 127 cases were included in measuring direct nursing time and 18 nurses participated in measuring indirect and personal time. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Two patients were classified into Class I (11.1%), 5 into Class II (27.8%), 9 into Class III (50%), and two into Class IV (11.1%). The amount of direct nursing care required for Class IV (513.7 min) was significantly more than that required for Class I (135.4 min). Direct and indirect nursing care was provided more often during the day shift as compared to the evening or night shifts. These findings provided the rationale for determining the appropriate ratio for nursing staff per shift based on the nursing workload in each shift. Conclusions: An appropriate ratio of nurse staffing should be ensured in ICUs to re-arrange the workload of nurses to help them provide essential direct care for patients.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.351-360
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• 2012

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to propose optimal hospitalization fees for nurse staffing levels and to improve the current nursing fee policy. Methods: A break-even analysis was used to evaluate the impact of a nursing fee policy on hospital's financial performance. Variables considered included the number of beds, bed occupancy rate, annual total patient days, hospitalization fees for nurse staffing levels, the initial annual nurses' salary, and the ratio of overhead costs to nursing labor costs. Data were collected as secondary data from annual reports of the Hospital Nursing Association and national health insurance. Results: The hospitalization fees according to nurse staffing levels in general hospitals are required to sustain or decrease in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7, and increase in grades 5 and 6. It is suggested that the range between grade 2 and 3 be sustained at the current level, the range between grade 4 and 5 be widen or merged into one, and the range between grade 6 and 7 be divided into several grades. Conclusion: Readjusting hospitalization fees for nurse staffing level will improve nurse-patient ratio and enhance the quality of nursing care in hospitals. Follow-up studies including tertiary hospitals and small hospitals are recommended.