Changes in Nurse Staffing Grades of Korean Hospitals during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The global COVID-19 pandemic is creating challenges to manage staff ratios in clinical units. Nurse staffing level is an important indicator of the quality of care. This study aimed to identify any changes in the nurse staffing levels in the general wards of hospitals in Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic. The unit of analysis was the hospitals. This longitudinal study observed the quarterly change of the nurse staffing grades in 969 hospitals in 2020. The nurse staffing grades ranged from 1 to 7 according to the nurse–patient ratio measured by the number of patients (or beds) per nurse. The major dependent and independent variables were the change of nurse staffing grades and three quarterly observation points being compared with those during the 1st quarter (1Q) of 2020, respectively. A generalized linear model was used. Unexpectedly, the nurse staffing grades significantly improved (2Q: RR, 27.2%; 95% confidence interval (CI), 15.1–27.6; p < 0.001; 3Q: RR, 95% CI, 20.2%; 16.9–21.6; p < 0.001; 4Q: RR, 26.6%; 95% CI, 17.8–39.6; p < 0.001) quarterly, indicating that the nurse staffing levels increased. In the comparison of grades at 2Q, 3Q, and 4Q with those at 1Q, most figures improved in tertiary, general, and small hospitals (p < 0.05), except at 3Q and 4Q of general hospitals. In conclusion, the nurse staffing levels did not decrease, but nursing shortage might occur.

Assessment of Nursing Workload Using Nursing Activities Score in Surgical Clinics During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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“…During the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the entire healthcare system around the world was suddenly under so much stress, struggling to cope with an increasing number of patients, leading to an increase in nurses' workloads and physical and mental exhaustion from the frontlines. Thus, a tremendous necessity of nurses was urgently needed, sometimes even relocating nurses from general wards to ICUs, https://doi.org/10.3923/tmr.2023.161.178 | Page 162 thereby reducing the nurse staffing level in general wards 18 . In the nursing literature, traditionally four types of nursing care delivery models (NCDM) are identified and used to organize and provide patients' care, mainly in hospital settings 19 .…”

Improvement in nurse staffing ratios according to policy changes: a prospective cohort study

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