Investigation of Nursing Shortage Issue in Healthcare Settings

Literature Review
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Literature Review
Introduction
The nursing shortage is a concerning issue in many healthcare facilities and specific departments. Research from different studies agrees that an inadequate workforce often increases pressure among the existing healthcare providers, leading to burnout and work-related stress (Foli et al., 2021). Juvй‐Udina et al. (2020) support the observations by Foli et al. (2021) by indicating the need for finding evidence-based practices to address this persistent nursing issue in modern healthcare facilities. Their sentiments significantly second the proposed PICOT question in this project that seeks to investigate whether in inpatients (P), does an increased number of nurses (I), compared to nursing shortages in the units (C), lead to improved health outcomes (O) within a specified time? Investigating this issue by exploring existing evidence from various research studies will be progressive because it will inform the current study and unearth the gaps in finding a sustainable solution to the problem. As a result, a literature review is a fundamental activity for highlighting the evidence related to the PICOT question and areas the project will enhance.
A Comparison of Research Questions
Research questions play a significant role in guiding the direction of a research project. In this context, diverse research exploring the nursing shortage in healthcare facilities approach their studies from different perspectives as informed by their research questions. Although some studies do not outline their research questions in the write-ups, they form a fundamental part of the primary data collection and influence the inquiry process. For instance, the four studies selected for this literature review take a unique approach to their work. Juvй-Udina et al.’s (2020) research questions guide the study toward investigating the impact of acuity approaches in nurse staffing, which enables the research to determine the value of taking a patient needs-oriented approach in staffing processes. Foli et al. (2021) followed four research questions that sought to investigate the psychological traumas of nurses working in critical care and the associated patterns. Bakhamis et al. (2019) take the direction of assessing the challenges that nurses face when working in an understaffed workforce. Finally, the research questions by Shin et al. (2018) sought to determine the consequence of increasing the nurse-patient ratio on their satisfaction and capacity to provide quality services. As a result, the four studies include research questions that comprehensively explore the nursing shortage issue in a healthcare setting and the associated consequences.
A Comparison of Sample Populations
Choosing an appropriate sample from a population is influential because it determines the strength of the findings of a study. However, the sample size varies significantly based on the study design adopted by the researcher. In the context of the four studies incorporated in this literature review, the study with the largest sample...