Purpose
The aim of this study was to examine the differences in nurse staffing levels and patient outcomes in long-term care hospitals by region and to identity the effects of nurse staffing level and registered nurse proportion on patient outcomes.
Methods
A secondary analysis of national data that included general characteristics of hospitals and long-term care hospitals’ evaluation results from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Services was conducted, and 1,205 hospitals were selected.
Results
Results showed that the mean number of patients per nursing staff and registered nurse proportion were 4.27 and 0.43, respectively. The differences in long-term care hospitals’ evaluation results and nurse staffing levels according to region were significant. A logistic regression analysis showed that the number of patients per nursing staff affected the probability of the patient experiencing a decline in daily life activities, as well as a decline in the outcomes of patients who were non-dementia; registered nurse proportion affected the outcomes of patients with dementia.
Conclusion
The findings suggest that implementing policies to improve long-term care hospitals’ nurse staffing level and registered nurse proportion is important. Ensuring mandatory registered nurse staffing levels based on the severity of patients’ diagnoses is also necessary.

Citations

• Factors Affecting Fall Incidents at Long-term Care Hospitals: Using Data from the Korea Patient Safety Reporting and Learning System
  Soojin Chung, Jeongim Lee
  Journal of Health Informatics and Statistics.2025; 50(1): 96.     CrossRef
• Registered Nurse Staffing and Inpatient Outcomes in Korean Long-Term Care Hospitals
  Sujin Shin, Jung Min Yoon, Eun-Ju Moon, Mi-Ji Lee, Jin-Hwa Park
  Healthcare.2024; 12(24): 2509.     CrossRef
• Factors Associated with Patient Safety Incidents in Long-Term Care Hospitals: A Secondary Data Analysis
  Sookhee Yoon, Myungsuk Kang
  Korean Journal of Adult Nursing.2022; 34(3): 295.     CrossRef
• Type D personality, cognitive illness perception, depression, approach coping, and self-management among older adults in long-term care hospitals: Structural equation modeling
  Sunki Kim, Mona Choi, JuHee Lee, Heejung Kim, Kijun Song, Hye-Ja Park
  Geriatric Nursing.2022; 48: 150.     CrossRef

PURPOSE
This study was conducted to explore the impact of nurse staffing level and oral care on pneumonia in elderly inpatients in long-term care hospitals (LTCHs).
METHODS
Data were obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Services (HIRA) including the profiles of LTCHs, monthly patient assessment reports and medical report survey data of pneumonia patients by HIRA in the fourth quarter of 2010. The sample consisted of 37 LTCHs and 6,593 patients.
RESULTS
Patient per nurse staff (OR=1.43, CI=1.22~1.68) and no oral care (OR=1.29, CI=1.01~1.64) were significantly related with hospital acquired pneumonia. The difference in percent of oral care by hospital was not significant between high and low group in nurse staffing level.
CONCLUSION
In order to reduce the occurrence of pneumonia in eldery patients, effective nursing interventions are not only required but also nurse staffing levels that enable nurses to provide the intervention.

Citations

• The Level of Performance, Frequency and Educational Needs of Nursing Activities in Long-term Care Hospital
  Sun-Sook Moon, Yeon Ok Suh, Kyung-Woo Lee, Jasung Gu
  The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing.2018; 21(2): 110.     CrossRef

PURPOSE
This study was designed to develop quality outcome indicators for nursing homes and community-based home care that would contribute to an appropriate evaluation and improvement of quality of long term care in Korea.
METHODS
The preliminary quality indicators of long term care were developed from a literature review and clinical expert panel. A content validity testing was done using a panel of experts who were selected from academic and clinical field of long-term care. The final quality indicators were confirmed after application in four nursing homes and four home care agencies to test clinical validity.
RESULTS
The preliminary quality indicators consisted of 3 domains and 19 indicators. The final quality indicators were composed of 4 domains and 17 indicators.
CONCLUSION
This study demonstrated the feasibility of outcome quality indicators in long term care. These quality indicators can be effectively used to evaluate the quality of nursing home and home care and to improve the quality of care in the Korean long-term care system.

Citations

• Identifying the Service Capability of Long-Term Care Facilities in China: An e-Delphi Study
  Wen Liu, Min Hu, Wen Chen
  Frontiers in Public Health.2022;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Incidence of hip fracture among long-term care insurance beneficiaries with dementia: comparison of home care and institutional care services
  Juyeong Kim, Young Choi, Eun-Cheol Park
  BMC Geriatrics.2019;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Longitudinal associations of nursing staff turnover with patient outcomes in long-term care hospitals in Korea
  Yoonseo Kim, Kihye Han
  Journal of Nursing Management.2018; 26(5): 518.     CrossRef
• Incidence of Pressure Ulcers During Home and Institutional Care Among Long-Term Care Insurance Beneficiaries With Dementia Using the Korean Elderly Cohort
  Juyeong Kim, Young Choi, Jaeyong Shin, Suk-Yong Jang, Kyeong Hee Cho, Jin Young Nam, Eun-Cheol Park
  Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.2017; 18(7): 638.e1.     CrossRef
• Current Status and Barriers to Health Care Services for Nursing Home Residents: Perspectives of Staffs in Korean Nursing Homes
  Yeon-Hwan Park, Hwal Lan Bang, Ga Hye Kim, Seieun Oh, Young-Il Jung, Hongsoo Kim
  Korean Journal of Adult Nursing.2015; 27(4): 418.     CrossRef
• Fuzzy Analysis of Consciousness Structure of Administrator for Determinative of Care Service Quality
  Yun-Jeong Jang
  Journal of Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems.2013; 23(3): 232.     CrossRef