Appraisal of Quantitative Research Studies on Nursing Staffing Level

PICOT Question: “In inpatients in acute care units, does an increased nurse staffing level, compared to low staffing levels, improve patient health outcomes on day 7 of hospitalization?”
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Background of Study
Numerous studies have reported a relationship between nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes in hospitals. Ensuring adequate nurse staffing levels is essential and should be a significant concern. While the effects of nurse staffing levels are underestimated in a hospital, these levels determine patient outcomes. If caution is not taken, death rates increase due to a simple mistake that can be corrected. The nursing field is usually faced with several challenges. In a clinical setup, perhaps the biggest challenge is usually the insufficiency in the number of staff. When there is an inadequate number of hands-on decks, it becomes quite difficult for an institution to run its services efficiently. This is especially so when looking at aspects such as cleanliness, patient experience, and even accurate diagnosis. Everyone gets exhausted when there is too much work. Everyone will need some external assistance when tired, and in a hospital setup, this external help never comes. In the end, it results in chronic cases of fatigue, which significantly impact the service delivery within the institution.
Too much workload usually results in burnout for the working staff. Some departments in the hospital are usually quite labor-intensive. As a result, any hiccup in the availability of this labor can be quite disastrous (Haegdorens, Van Bogaert, De Meester & Monsieurs, 2019). For example, in the emergency department, any second means everything for the patients being brought in and those being attended to. When that constant presence is absent, these patients can easily and quickly deteriorate and even die. An understaffed hospital can sometimes be borderline equated to a death trap; too many patients need treatment while very few attendants to do so ((Griffiths et al. 2016). therefore, they end up just waiting in the line, either for medical attention or for worsening their respective conditions. There is a need to address this issue properly for the best patient outcomes.
How do these two articles support the nurse practice issue you chose?
Haegdorens, Van Bogaert, De Meester & Monsieurs (2019) note are the largest group of hospital employees and are responsible for the majority of patient care. This is why it is crucial to investigate their work environment and staffing to ensure they can provide quality care to patients. Additionally, Haegdorens, Van Bogaert, De Meester & Monsieurs (2019) note that inadequate nurse staffing in acute hospitals is connected to increased hospital mortality rates, medical errors, and healthcare-related infections. Therefore improved nurse staffing and employing a large proportion of nurses with a bachelor's degree could reduce mortality in a hospital within 30 days. Consequently, Haegdorens, Van Bogaert, De Meester & Monsieurs (2019) state that adequate nurse staffing levels influence patient quality of care. This is because nurses have adequate time to spend with patients and understa...