Tafti Elena Ashtari, Cannaby Ann-Marie, Carter Vanda, Strobel Stephenson
Ludwig Maximillian University, Munich, Germany.
Coventry University Group, Coventry, UK.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2025 May 9;25(1):670. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-12822-6.
In this study, we utilize a novel and unique data source to examine the relationship between nurses' contact time and patients' hospital outcomes. While previous research has demonstrated that higher nurse staffing levels lead to better outcomes, the specific contribution of increased direct patient care time to these improvements remains unknown. Using data from a Real-Time Location System (RTLS) that tracks the movement of staff and patients across the hospital wards using Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors, we can estimate the time patients "actually" spend with nursing staff during an inpatient stay. We find that the average patient is in contact with nurses for about 8 h a day, of which 22 min are of direct care at the patient's bedside. We find a statistically significant association between contact time, measured as the total number of minutes in a day the patient is in contact with nursing staff, and in-hospital mortality. A 10-minute increase in contact time is associated in our data with a 0.05% reduction in mortality. By emphasizing the importance of patient-centered care and the role of contact time in shaping patient outcomes, our results suggest the need for healthcare institutions to prioritize strategies that optimize patient-provider interactions.
在本研究中，我们利用一种新颖独特的数据源来检验护士接触时间与患者医院治疗结果之间的关系。虽然先前的研究表明，更高的护士人员配备水平会带来更好的治疗结果，但增加的直接护理时间对这些改善的具体贡献仍不明确。利用实时定位系统（RTLS）的数据，该系统通过全球定位系统（GPS）传感器追踪医院病房内医护人员和患者的移动情况，我们能够估算患者住院期间“实际”与护理人员相处的时间。我们发现，平均每位患者每天与护士接触约8小时，其中在患者床边进行直接护理的时间为22分钟。我们发现，以患者一天中与护理人员接触的总分钟数来衡量的接触时间与住院死亡率之间存在统计学上的显著关联。在我们的数据中，接触时间每增加10分钟，死亡率就会降低0.05%。通过强调以患者为中心的护理的重要性以及接触时间在塑造患者治疗结果中的作用，我们的研究结果表明，医疗机构需要优先考虑优化患者与医护人员互动的策略。
