The journal of nursing research : JNR
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Multicenter Study
Effects of nurse staffing ratios on patient mortality in Taiwan acute care hospitals: a longitudinal study.
The nurse workload in Taiwan averages two to seven times more than that in the United States and other developed countries. Previous studies have indicated heavy nursing workload as an underlying cause of preventable patient death. No studies have yet explored the relationship between nurse staffing ratio and patient mortality in Taiwan. ⋯ Nurse staffing levels affect patient outcomes. Faced with the problem of inadequate nurses for hospital healthcare needs, Taiwanese policymakers should work to implement a legislatively mandated minimum patient-nurse ratio on a shift-by-shift basis to regulate nurse staffing. In setting guidelines for nurse staffing, policymakers must consider nursing staff characteristics in addition to the number of nurses.