Nurse Staffing and 30-day Readmission of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A 10-year Retrospective Study of Patient Hospitalization

Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity in many countries, and it has high rate of hospital readmissions due to recurrent exacerbations of the disease. Many previous studies have suggested further examination of the factors that contribute to hospital re...

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Main Authors: Seung Ju Kim, RN, Eun-Cheol Park, MD, PhD, Kyu-Tae Han, BHM, Sun Jung Kim, PhD, Tae Hyun Kim, PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2016-12-01
Series:Asian Nursing Research
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1976131716302602
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author Seung Ju Kim, RN
Eun-Cheol Park, MD, PhD
Kyu-Tae Han, BHM
Sun Jung Kim, PhD
Tae Hyun Kim, PhD
author_facet Seung Ju Kim, RN
Eun-Cheol Park, MD, PhD
Kyu-Tae Han, BHM
Sun Jung Kim, PhD
Tae Hyun Kim, PhD
author_sort Seung Ju Kim, RN
collection DOAJ
description Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity in many countries, and it has high rate of hospital readmissions due to recurrent exacerbations of the disease. Many previous studies have suggested further examination of the factors that contribute to hospital readmissions of COPD patients. However, evidence on the effects of nurse staffing by registered nurses (RNs) on the readmission of COPD patients is lacking in Korea. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of nurse staffing on hospital readmissions of COPD patients. Methods: We used National Health Insurance claim data from 2002 to 2012. A total of 1,070 hospitals and 339,379 hospitalization cases were included in the analysis. We divided the number of RNs per 100 beds and the proportion of RNs on staff to one of three groups (Q1: low; Q2: moderate; Q3: high). A generalized estimating equation model was used to evaluate the associations between readmission and nurse staffing. Results: A higher number of RNs was associated with lower readmission rates of 8.9% (Q2) and 7.9% (Q3) respectively. A similar effect was observed as the proportion of RNs among the total nursing staff gradually increased, resulting in lower readmission rates of 7.7% (Q2) and 8.3% (Q3). Conclusions: Our results suggest notable positive effects of nurse staffing by RNs on patient outcomes. In addition, the magnitude of impact differed between different sizes of hospitals. Thus, human resource planning to solve staffing shortages should carefully consider the qualitative aspects of the nursing staff composition.
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spelling doaj.art-d60b4519f0d04d9099dc1791d8a2edfd2022-12-21T19:48:31ZengElsevierAsian Nursing Research1976-13172016-12-0110428328810.1016/j.anr.2016.09.003Nurse Staffing and 30-day Readmission of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A 10-year Retrospective Study of Patient HospitalizationSeung Ju Kim, RN0Eun-Cheol Park, MD, PhD1Kyu-Tae Han, BHM2Sun Jung Kim, PhD3Tae Hyun Kim, PhD4Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, South KoreaInstitute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, South KoreaDepartment of Health Administration and Management, College of Medical Science, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, South KoreaInstitute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, South KoreaPurpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity in many countries, and it has high rate of hospital readmissions due to recurrent exacerbations of the disease. Many previous studies have suggested further examination of the factors that contribute to hospital readmissions of COPD patients. However, evidence on the effects of nurse staffing by registered nurses (RNs) on the readmission of COPD patients is lacking in Korea. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of nurse staffing on hospital readmissions of COPD patients. Methods: We used National Health Insurance claim data from 2002 to 2012. A total of 1,070 hospitals and 339,379 hospitalization cases were included in the analysis. We divided the number of RNs per 100 beds and the proportion of RNs on staff to one of three groups (Q1: low; Q2: moderate; Q3: high). A generalized estimating equation model was used to evaluate the associations between readmission and nurse staffing. Results: A higher number of RNs was associated with lower readmission rates of 8.9% (Q2) and 7.9% (Q3) respectively. A similar effect was observed as the proportion of RNs among the total nursing staff gradually increased, resulting in lower readmission rates of 7.7% (Q2) and 8.3% (Q3). Conclusions: Our results suggest notable positive effects of nurse staffing by RNs on patient outcomes. In addition, the magnitude of impact differed between different sizes of hospitals. Thus, human resource planning to solve staffing shortages should carefully consider the qualitative aspects of the nursing staff composition.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1976131716302602health resourcesnursing staffpatient readmissionquality of health care
spellingShingle Seung Ju Kim, RN
Eun-Cheol Park, MD, PhD
Kyu-Tae Han, BHM
Sun Jung Kim, PhD
Tae Hyun Kim, PhD
Nurse Staffing and 30-day Readmission of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A 10-year Retrospective Study of Patient Hospitalization
Asian Nursing Research
health resources
nursing staff
patient readmission
quality of health care
title Nurse Staffing and 30-day Readmission of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A 10-year Retrospective Study of Patient Hospitalization
title_full Nurse Staffing and 30-day Readmission of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A 10-year Retrospective Study of Patient Hospitalization
title_fullStr Nurse Staffing and 30-day Readmission of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A 10-year Retrospective Study of Patient Hospitalization
title_full_unstemmed Nurse Staffing and 30-day Readmission of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A 10-year Retrospective Study of Patient Hospitalization
title_short Nurse Staffing and 30-day Readmission of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients: A 10-year Retrospective Study of Patient Hospitalization
title_sort nurse staffing and 30 day readmission of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients a 10 year retrospective study of patient hospitalization
topic health resources
nursing staff
patient readmission
quality of health care
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1976131716302602
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