Higher percentage of below-average staffing days linked to worse quality for licensed practical nurses<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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TUESDAY, Jan. 10, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Day-to-day staffing stability is a marker of better quality of nursing homes, according to a study published online Jan. 10 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Dana B. Mukamel, Ph.D., from the University of California in Irvine, and colleagues examined whether staffing instability, defined as the percentage of days with below-average staffing levels, is associated with nursing home quality in a quality improvement study conducted at 14,717 nursing homes.<\/p>\n The researchers found that the mean percentage of days with below-average staffing was 30.2, 16.4, and 5.1 percent for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nurse aides, respectively. Per resident-day, the mean staffing hours were 0.44, 0.80, and 2.20 for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nurse aides, respectively. In regression models that included average staffing, there was a significant association observed between a higher percentage of below-average staffing days and worse quality for licensed practical nurses in 10 of 12 models; long-stay residents had the largest association for decline in activities of daily living. In nine of 12 models, a higher percentage of below-average staffing days was significantly associated with worse quality for certified nurse aides; the largest association was seen for short-stay functioning.<\/p>\n “It is clear that average staffing levels do not tell the whole story; now that the data are available to examine more nuanced aspects of staffing, such as the frequency with which a facility has below-average staffing, a more comprehensive view of nursing home staffing should be pursued,” the authors write.<\/p>\n