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Purpose: This study was done to examine relationships between nurse staffing level and postsurgical patient outcomes using inpatient database from the National Health Insurance. Methods: Records of 111,491 patients who received one of 12 types of surgery between January and December, 2009 were identified and analyzed in this study. Nurse staffing level was measured using adjusted nurse staffing grades from 0 to 7. Patient outcomes were defined as in-hospital mortality, or pneumonia, sepsis, or urinary tract infection after surgery. Logistic regression analyses estimated by Generalized Estimation Model, were used to analyze the association between nurse staffing level and patient outcomes. Results: An inverse relationship was found between nurse staffing and patient mortality. Compared with patients who were cared for in hospitals with the highest nurse staffing (Grades 0-1), increases in the odds of dying were found in those with Grades 6-7 [OR (odds ratio)= 2.99, 95% CI (confidence interval)= 1.94-4.60], those with Grades 4-5 (OR= 1.78, 95% CI= 1.24-2.57) and those with Grades 2-3 (OR= 1.57, 95% CI= 1.25-1.98). Lower nurse staffing level was also associated with higher number of cases in pneumonia and sepsis. Conclusion: Policies for providing adequate nurse staffing is required to enhance quality of care and lead to better perioperative patient outcomes.

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (K-GAI). Methods: Two hundreds and thirty six elderly were participated to test K-GAI. Goldberg's short screening scale for anxiety was tested for criterion validity. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was used for measuring sensitivity and specificity. Results: The obtained internal consistency was 0.88. There were significant associations between test and retest results. K-GAI scores was significantly associated with Goldberg's short screening scale for anxiety (r=.694, p<.001). We found that a score of seven and greater was optimal for a criterion of anxiety among elderly Koreans. At this cut point, sensitivity was 78.9% and specificity was 73.1%. Conclusion: The K-GAI displayed good psychometric properties. This tool would be useful for early detection of anxiety among elderly Koreans with various situations including cognitive disorder, low education, or physical disability.

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