Nursing Shortages and Patient Outcomes

Elaine Kelly (), Carol Propper and Ben Zaranko ()
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Elaine Kelly: Health Foundation, Institute for Fiscal Studies
Ben Zaranko: Institute for Fiscal Studies

No 2024-02, Working Papers from Centre for Health Economics, Monash University

Abstract: This paper examines the effect of nurse shortages on healthcare production. Employing novel high-frequency data we examine what effect the absence of nursing staff has on inpatient mortality and other outcomes associated with nursing care. We find significant adverse mortality impacts of shortages of nurses with degree-level qualifications but no effect of shortages of less qualified nursing assistants. Adverse mortality impacts of shortages are particularly concentrated among patients with sepsis, a condition where early detection is important for survival and where nurses have a central role in detection and subsequent control.

Keywords: Nursing Shortages; Patient Outcomes; Mortality; Hospital Care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I11 J24 J45 M50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
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