Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
J Nurs Manag. 2019 Jul;27(5):896-917. doi: 10.1111/jonm.12764. Epub 2019 Apr 15.
To evaluate and summarize current evidence on the relationship between the patient-nurse ratio staffing method and nurse employee outcomes.
Evidence-based decision-making linking nurse staffing with staff-related outcomes is a much needed research area. Although multiple studies have investigated this phenomenon, the evidence is mixed and fragmented.
A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cinahl, Cochrane Library and the ERIC databases. Thirty studies were identified, analysing eight selected key nurse outcomes.
KEY ISSUE(S): Future research should focus on unit-level data, incorporate other methodologies and aim for comparability between different types of clinical settings as well as different health care systems.
A relationship between the patient-nurse ratio and specific staff-related outcomes is confirmed by various studies. However, apart from the patient-nurse ratio other variables have to be taken into consideration to ensure quality of care (e.g., skill mix, the work environment and patient acuity).
Hospital management should pursue the access and use of reliable data so that the validity and generalizability of evidence-based research can be assessed, which in turn can be converted into policy guidelines.
评估和总结目前关于患者与护士比例配置方法与护士员工结果之间关系的证据。
将护士人员配置与员工相关结果联系起来的循证决策是一个非常需要的研究领域。尽管已经有多项研究调查了这一现象，但证据是混杂和分散的。
使用 PubMed、Embase、Web of Science、Cinahl、Cochrane Library 和 ERIC 数据库进行了系统的文献检索。确定了 30 项研究，分析了 8 项选定的关键护士结果。
未来的研究应侧重于单位层面的数据，采用其他方法，并努力实现不同类型临床环境以及不同医疗保健系统之间的可比性。
多项研究证实了患者与护士比例与特定员工相关结果之间的关系。然而，除了患者与护士比例之外，还必须考虑其他变量，以确保护理质量（例如，技能组合、工作环境和患者病情的严重程度）。
医院管理部门应寻求获取和使用可靠的数据，以便评估基于证据的研究的有效性和可推广性，这反过来又可以转化为政策指南。
