Staffing patterns and nurses’ working conditions are risk factors for healthcare-associated infections as well as occupational injuries and infections. Staffing shortages, especially of nurses, have been identified as one of the major factors expected to constrain hospitals’ ability to deal with future outbreaks of emerging infections. These problems are compounded by a global nursing shortage. A recent evidence-based practice report sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research concluded that a relationship exists between lower levels of nurse staffing and higher incidence of adverse patient outcomes . Nurses’ working conditions have been associated with medication errors and falls, increased deaths, and spread of infection . RN staffing levels have been associated with the spread of disease during outbreaks. However, increasing nurse-to-patient ratios alone is not adequate; more complex staffing issues appear to be at work. Many studies have found that the times of higher ratios of “pool staff” (i.e., nursing staff who were members of the hospital pool service or agency nurses) to “regular staff” (i.e., nurses permanently assigned to the unit) were independently associated with healthcare-associated infections . The skill mix of the staff, that is, the ratio of RNs to total nursing personnel (RNs plus nurses’ aides), is also related to healthcare-associated infections; increased RN skill mix decreases the incidence of healthcare-associated infections . In a recent comprehensive review of the literature, the authors concluded that evidence of the relationship between nurses’ working environment and patient safety outcomes, including healthcare-associated infections is growing. They also concluded that stability, skill mix, and experience of the nurse workforce in specific settings are emerging as important factors in that relationship . Understanding and improving nurses’ working conditions can potentially decrease the incidence of many infectious diseases.
Reference: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/10/11/04-0253_article.htm