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Original Article

The Effects of Medical Staffing Level on Length of Stay

Hanju Lee1, Yu Kyung Ko2, Mi-Won Kim3
Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration 2011;17(3):327-335.
Published online: September 30, 2011

1Researcher, Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service, Korea.

2Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing Science, College of Medical Science, Konyang University, Korea.

3Full-time Lecturer, Department of Nursing, Sangmyung University, Korea.

Correspondence: Ko, Yu Kyung. Department of Nursing Science, College of Medicine, Konyang University, 685 Gasuwon-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon 302-718, Korea. Tel: 82-42-600-6436, Fax: 82-42-545-5326, yukyko@konyang.ac.kr
• Received: May 26, 2011   • Revised: June 21, 2011   • Accepted: June 21, 2011

Copyright © 2011 Korean Academy of Nursing Administration

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  • Purpose
    The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of medical staffing level as bed-to-medical staff ratio on patient outcomes as length of stay (LOS) among hospitals in Korea.
  • Methods
    Two hundred and fifty one hospitals participated in the study between January and March 2008. Data for the study was requested by an electronic data interchange from the Health Insurance Review Agency in 2008. In data analysis, SPSS WIN 15.0 program was utilized for descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple regression.
  • Results
    The mean score for length of stay was 13.6 days. The mean of operating bed-to-nurse ratio was 7.93:1. The predicting factors for LOS were bed-to-nurse's aide ratio, bed-to doctor's ratio, severely ill patient rate, and hospital type. These factors explained 28.9% of the variance in patient outcomes.
  • Conclusion
    This study results indicate that the relationship between medical staffing level and patient outcomes is important in the improvement of the quality of patient care. Thus, improvements in the quality of the nurse practice environment could improve patient outcomes for hospitalized patients.
  • Key Words: Staffing; Patient outcome; Length of stay
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Table 1
General characteristics of the hospitals (N=259)
jkana-17-327-i001.jpg

1) Tertiary Hospital - over 100 beds and designated by medical law, General Hospital - over 100 beds, Hospital - 30-99 beds

Table 2
Patient outcome (LOS) according to general characteristics (N=259)
jkana-17-327-i002.jpg

1) Tertiary Hospital - over 100 beds and designated by medical law, General Hospital - over 100 beds, Hospital - 30-99 beds

Table 3
Correlations of study variables
jkana-17-327-i003.jpg

X1= Number of operating beds; X2= Operating Bed-to-Nurse ratio; X3= Operating Bed-to-doctor ratio; X4= Operating Bed-to-nurse's aide; X5= Elderly patient rate; X6= Severely ill patient rate; X7= Length of Stay (days);

Table 4
Factors affecting LOS
jkana-17-327-i004.jpg

Figure & Data

References

    Citations

    Citations to this article as recorded by  
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    The Effects of Medical Staffing Level on Length of Stay
    J Korean Acad Nurs Adm. 2011;17(3):327-335.   Published online September 30, 2011
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.11111/jkana.2011.17.3.327
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    The Effects of Medical Staffing Level on Length of Stay
    J Korean Acad Nurs Adm. 2011;17(3):327-335.   Published online September 30, 2011
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.11111/jkana.2011.17.3.327
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    The Effects of Medical Staffing Level on Length of Stay
    The Effects of Medical Staffing Level on Length of Stay

    General characteristics of the hospitals (N=259)

    1) Tertiary Hospital - over 100 beds and designated by medical law, General Hospital - over 100 beds, Hospital - 30-99 beds

    Patient outcome (LOS) according to general characteristics (N=259)

    1) Tertiary Hospital - over 100 beds and designated by medical law, General Hospital - over 100 beds, Hospital - 30-99 beds

    Correlations of study variables

    X1= Number of operating beds; X2= Operating Bed-to-Nurse ratio; X3= Operating Bed-to-doctor ratio; X4= Operating Bed-to-nurse's aide; X5= Elderly patient rate; X6= Severely ill patient rate; X7= Length of Stay (days);

    Factors affecting LOS
    Table 1 General characteristics of the hospitals (N=259)

    1) Tertiary Hospital - over 100 beds and designated by medical law, General Hospital - over 100 beds, Hospital - 30-99 beds

    Table 2 Patient outcome (LOS) according to general characteristics (N=259)

    1) Tertiary Hospital - over 100 beds and designated by medical law, General Hospital - over 100 beds, Hospital - 30-99 beds

    Table 3 Correlations of study variables

    X1= Number of operating beds; X2= Operating Bed-to-Nurse ratio; X3= Operating Bed-to-doctor ratio; X4= Operating Bed-to-nurse's aide; X5= Elderly patient rate; X6= Severely ill patient rate; X7= Length of Stay (days);

    Table 4 Factors affecting LOS

    Table 1

    Table 2

    Table 3

    Table 4

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