Estimating a Hospital Production Function to Evaluate the Effect of Nurse Staffing on Patient Mortality in Taiwan: The Longitudinal Count Data Approach

Yia-Wun Liang (), Wen-Yi Chen () and Yu-Hui Lin ()
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Yia-Wun Liang: Department of Senior Citizen Service Management, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan.
Wen-Yi Chen: Department of Senior Citizen Service Management, National Taichung University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan.
Yu-Hui Lin: Department of Business Administration, Nan Kai University of Technology, Nan-Tou, Taiwan.

Journal for Economic Forecasting, 2015, issue 4, 154-169

Abstract: This study employed the Random Effect Zero-Inflated Poisson model incorporating a first- order autoregressive structure to estimate the hospital production function. We specifically investigated the effect of nurse staffing on patient mortality in acute-care hospitals under Taiwan universal health insurance system. Our results showed that the probability of being mortality free in the high patient-to-nurse ratio group is 0.019 lower than that in its counterparts and those patients who were in the high patient-to-nurse ratio nursing unit generates 3.419 more deaths than its counterparts. These findings suggested that nurse staffing below target levels in acute-care hospitals is associated with increased mortality. The policymakers should consider healthcare policy that matches staffing with patients’ need for nursing care through setting a shift-based, m

Keywords: health production; hospital production; nurse staffing; patient mortality; Random Effect Zero-Inflated Poisson (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 C35 I12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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