Reviewing the evidence base for nurse staffing and quality of care in nursing homes
- Department of Health Policy&Management, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
- Correspondence to Nicholas G Castle
Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, A610 Crabtree Hall, Pittsburgh 15261, Pennsylvania, USA; CastleN{at}Pitt.edu
Implications for practice and research
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■ There is some evidence that the registered nurse to nursing auxiliary ratio has an impact on the quality of care but further research is needed.
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■ There is a need to consider other factors such as staff turnover and the use of agency staff when considering the quality of care in nursing homes (NHs).
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■ Further research is needed to identify quality indicators that take into account what is important to residents and their families.
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■ There are a number of methodological challenges to undertaking research in this area.
Context
This research comes at a time when NHs are being increasingly asked to do more with less. Revenues for NHs do not appear to be keeping up with inflation. Given that …
