Nurse staffing and education and hospital mortality in nine European countries: a retrospective observational study

Aiken, Linda H; Sloane, Douglas M; Bruyneel, Luk; Van den Heede, Koen; Griffiths, Peter; Busse, Reinhard; Diomidous, Marianna; Kinnunen, Juha; Kozka, Maria; Lesaffre, Emmanuel; McHugh, Matthew D; Moreno-Casbas, MT; Rafferty, Anne Marie; Schwendimann, Rene; Scott, P Anne; Tishelman, Carol; van Achterberg, Theo; Sermeus, Walter; for the RN4CAST consortium,

doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62631-8

Nurse staffing and education and hospital mortality in nine European countries: a retrospective observational study

Author:

Aiken, Linda H

Sloane, Douglas M ; Bruyneel, Luk ; Van den Heede, Koen ; Griffiths, Peter ; Busse, Reinhard ; Diomidous, Marianna ; Kinnunen, Juha ; Kozka, Maria ; Lesaffre, Emmanuel ; McHugh, Matthew D ; Moreno-Casbas, MT ; Rafferty, Anne Marie ; Schwendimann, Rene ; Scott, P Anne ; Tishelman, Carol ; van Achterberg, Theo ; Sermeus, Walter ; for the RN4CAST consortium,

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Medicine, General & Internal, General & Internal Medicine, PATIENT OUTCOMES, ADMINISTRATIVE DATA, UNITED-STATES, CARE, QUALITY, HEALTH, AUSTERITY, CRISIS, SYSTEM, RATES, Aged, Comorbidity, Education, Nursing, Educational Status, Europe, Female, Hospital Mortality, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Nursing Administration Research, Nursing Staff, Hospital, Outcome Assessment, Health Care, Personnel Staffing and Scheduling, Postanesthesia Nursing, Quality Indicators, Health Care, Retrospective Studies, Workforce, Workload, RN4CAST consortium, 11 Medical and Health Sciences, 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences, 42 Health sciences

Abstract:

Austerity measures and health-system redesign to minimise hospital expenditures risk adversely affecting patient outcomes. The RN4CAST study was designed to inform decision making about nursing, one of the largest components of hospital operating expenses. We aimed to assess whether differences in patient to nurse ratios and nurses' educational qualifications in nine of the 12 RN4CAST countries with similar patient discharge data were associated with variation in hospital mortality after common surgical procedures.