Improving the ability to detect the impact of labor on patient outcomes

A key part of resource allocation decisions is determining the impact of staffing on clinical outcomes.A national study involving eight hospitals and 77 units lends support for a previously identified labor assignment phenomena th;lt mall contribute to an underestimation of the impact of nursing labor on outcomes if only traditional labor measurement methods are used. The authors suggest actions for nurse administrators and researchers who must address frequent queries as to the adequacy of nursing staffing.