Rationing of Nursing Care and Its Relationship with Nurse Staffing and Patient Outcomes: The Mediation Effect Tested by Structural Equation Modeling

Xiaowen Zhu, Jing Zheng, Ke Liu and Liming You
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Xiaowen Zhu: School of Nursing, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
Jing Zheng: School of Nursing, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510310, China
Ke Liu: School of Nursing, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
Liming You: School of Nursing, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 10, 1-11

Abstract: Purpose : The purpose of this study is to test the mediation effect of rationing of nursing care (RONC) and the relationship this has between nurse staffing and patient outcomes. Methods : The analytic sample included 7802 nurse surveys and 5430 patient surveys. Three patient outcome indicators, nurse staffing, RONC, and confounding factors were considered in the model pathways. Results : The hypothesized model was shown to be statistically significant. In the model, nurses who were in the units with lower nurse-to-patient ratios reported higher scores on RONC, which meant that an increased level of withheld nursing care or a failure to carry out nursing duties was apparent. Nurses who reported a higher score on RONC, scored poorly on the quality assessment and were more frequently involved in patient adverse events. Nurse staffing influenced quality assessments and patient adverse events through RONC. In units with poorer nurse-reported quality assessments or more frequently patient adverse events, patient-reported dissatisfaction scores were higher. Conclusions : The results suggest that a lack of nurse staffing leads to RONC, which leads to poorer patient outcomes. These results are seen when considering the evaluations completed by both nurses and patients. The relationship between staffing numbers and patient outcomes explains the mediating role of RONC.

Keywords: rationing of nursing care; nurse staffing; patient outcomes; structural equation modeling; mediation; missed care; care left undone; unfinished nursing care; underuse of nursing services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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