Project description:Background and objectivesNursing staff turnover is a substantial concern for nursing homes that care for millions of older individuals, especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Low pay is considered as one of the key reasons for high turnover. However, we do not know whether increasing wages can lead to lower turnover. In this study, we fill this gap in our understanding by analyzing the relationship between wages and nursing staff turnover.Research design and methodsWe obtained data on hourly wages (Medicare Cost Reports), turnover (Iowa Department of Human Services), and nursing home and resident characteristics (Nursing Home Compare and LTCFocus) from 2013 to 2017. We summarized the characteristics of nursing homes as well as turnover trends over time. Next, we used pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and facility fixed effects regressions to examine the relationship between wages and turnover adjusting for nursing home and resident characteristics.ResultsAmong the 396 nursing homes in Iowa, average hourly wage was $27.0 for registered nurses (RNs), $21.6 for licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and $14.1 for certified nurse aides (CNAs) during 2013-2017. Average turnover rates were increasing over time for all staff types and in 2017, turnover rates were 46.0% for RNs, 44.4% for LPNs, and 64.7% for CNAs. In both pooled OLS and facility fixed effects regressions, higher wages were associated with lower turnover of CNAs but not LPNs or RNs. The magnitude of the effect of wages on turnover for CNAs was lower in facility fixed effects regressions.Discussion and implicationsWe found a significant relationship between hourly wages and turnover for CNAs but not for LPNs or RNs. Focusing on higher wages alone may not lead to lower turnover of all types of nursing staff in nursing homes. We should also focus on nonwage factors related to turnover.
Project description:Background/Objectives: Nursing staff turnover can adversely affect nursing home (NH) performance. To address staffing shortages, NHs are increasingly turning to agency nursing staff as a solution. This study examined the relationship between the use of agency nursing staff and turnover rates among NH permanent nursing staff. Methods: This retrospective, observational study used secondary data from several sources, including the Payroll-Based Journal, the Care Compare: Five Star Quality Rating System, and Area Health Resource Files (n: =35,200, years: 2021-2023). The dependent variable was turnover rates among registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and certified nursing assistants (CNAs). The independent variable was the classification of NHs based on their level of agency nursing staff utilization. Facilities were classified as "high utilizers" (the top 25% in agency nursing staff use) and "low utilizers" (the remaining 75%). This classification was informed by prior research indicating that the impact of agency nursing staff on NH performance is most pronounced at higher levels of utilization. A two-way fixed-effects regression model (facility and year) was used, with appropriate control variables. Results: NHs identified as high utilizers had significantly higher turnover rates among permanent RNs (7%) and CNAs (1.9%) compared to facilities that had low utilization of agency nurses (p < 0.001). No significant association was found between agency LPN utilization and LPN turnover. Conclusions: Greater reliance on agency nursing staff was associated with increased turnover, with the strongest effect observed for RNs. NH administrators should consider strategies to balance agency staff utilization with efforts to retain permanent staff, emphasizing long-term workforce stability.
Project description:ImportanceTurnover in health care staff may disrupt patient care and create operational and organizational challenges, and nursing home staff turnover rates are particularly high. Empirical evidence on the association between turnover and quality of care is limited and has typically relied on low-quality measures of turnover, small and selected samples of facilities, and comparisons across facilities that are highly susceptible to residual confounding.ObjectiveTo quantify the association between nursing home staff turnover and quality of care using within-facility variation over time in reliable turnover measures available for virtually all US nursing homes.Design, setting, and participantsIn this cross-sectional study, data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on health inspection citations and quality measures at US nursing homes were combined with turnover measures constructed from daily staffing payroll data for quarter 2 of 2017 (April 1 to June 30) to quarter 4 of 2019 (October 1 to December 31), covering 1.06 billion shifts for 7.48 million employment relationships at 15 869 facilities. A 2-way fixed-effects design was used to estimate the association between staff turnover (direct care nursing staff and administrators) and quality-of-care outcomes based on how the same facility performed differently in times of low and high turnover. Data analysis was performed from September 2022 to August 2023.ExposuresFacility turnover, defined as the share of hours worked in a period by staff hired within the last 90 days.Main outcomes and measuresNumber, type, scope, and severity of health inspection citations, overall health inspection scores, and Nursing Home Compare quality measures.ResultsThe study sample included 1.45 million facility-weeks between April 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019, corresponding to 13 826 unique facilities. During an average facility-week, 15.0% of nursing staff and 11.6% of administrators were new hires due to recent turnover. After both administrator turnover and the overall staffing level were controlled for, an additional 10 percentage points in nursing staff turnover in the 2 weeks before a health inspection was associated with an additional 0.241 (95% CI, 0.084-0.399) citations in that inspection, compared with a mean of 5.98 citations. An additional 10 percentage points in nursing staff turnover was associated with a mean decrease of 0.035 (95% CI, 0.023-0.047) SDs in assessment-based quality measures and 0.020 (95% CI, 0.001-0.038) SDs in claims-based quality measures, with the strongest associations found for measures related to patient functioning.Conclusions and relevanceWithin-facility variation in staff turnover was associated with decreased quality of care. These findings suggest that efforts to monitor and reduce staff turnover may be able to improve patient outcomes.
Project description:Nurses are vulnerable to mental health challenges, including burnout, as they are exposed to adverse job conditions such as high workload. The mental health of this population can relate not only to individual well-being but also to patient safety outcomes. Therefore, there is a need for a mental health improvement strategy that targets this population. This cross-sectional survey study investigates emotional labor, burnout, turnover intention, and medical error levels among 117 nursing staff members in a South Korean university hospital; it also analyzes correlations among outcomes and conduct correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis to determine relationships among these factors. The participants had moderate to high levels of emotional labor and burnout, and 23% had experienced medical errors within the last six months. Save for medical errors, all outcomes significantly and positively correlated with each other. These results can be used to improve the mental health outcomes of nurses working in the hospital and their consequences. Specifically, the job positions of nursing personnel may be a major consideration in such a strategy, and job-focused emotional labor and employee-focused emotional labor may be promising targets in ameliorating turnover intention and client-related burnout, respectively.
Project description:IntroductionSoundscapes in nursing homes are often suboptimal for residents. This can cause them feeling anxious and unsafe, or develop behavioral and psychological problems. Residents with dementia cannot adapt nursing home environments to their needs due to cognitive and physical limitations. It is up to the staff of psycho-geriatric wards to improve the soundscape. We evaluated the effect of the sound awareness intervention Mobile Soundscape Appraisal and Recording Technology (MoSART+) on soundscapes in nursing homes.MethodsThe MoSART+ intervention was carried out in four nursing homes and took three months in each home. The MoSART+ intervention involved training ambassadors, assessing the soundscape with the MoSART application by the nursing staff to raise their sound awareness on random time points, discussing the measurements, and implementing micro-interventions. Soundscapes were assessed from 0 to 100 on four attributes: pleasantness, eventfulness, complexity, and range of affordances. Based on these scores, soundscapes were classified in four dimensions: calm, lively, boring, and chaotic. Nursing staff graded the environment on a scale of 0 to 10. T-test and Z-tests were used to analyze data.ResultsStaff recorded 1882 measurements with the MoSART app. "People," "music, TV, and radio," and "machines and appliances" were the most prevalent sound sources before and after the implementation of micro-interventions. Post-implementation of micro-interventions, soundscapes were pleasant (median 69.0; IQR 54.0-81.0), of low complexity (33.0; 18.0-47.0), uneventful (27.0; 14.0-46.5), and gave moderate affordances (50.0; 35.0-67.0). Changes in attributes were statistically significant (p < 0.01). The proportion of the dimension calm increased (z = 12.7, p < 0.01), the proportion of chaotic decreased (z = 15.0, p < 0.01), and the proportion of lively decreased not statically significant (z = 0.68, p = 0.79). The proportion of boring was unchanged. The proportion of grades ≥6 increased after implementation of the micro-interventions (z = 15.3, p < 0.01). The micro-interventions focused on removing or reducing disturbing sounds and were unique for each nursing home.DiscussionThe MoSART+ intervention resulted in a statistically significantly improvement of soundscapes, and more favorable evaluations of the nursing staff. The intervention empowered staff to adapt soundscapes. Nursing homes can improve soundscapes by raising sound awareness among staff.Trial registrationNetherlands National Trial Register (NL6831).
Project description:BackgroundElder abuse in long-term care is an important public health concern with social, health-related, and economic implications. Staff-to-resident abuse is of particular interest since institutions should protect residents' rights and prevent harm. To provide an up-to date comprehensive overview of staff-to-resident abuse in nursing homes, we performed a scoping review considering types of abuse, their prevalence and associated factors, descriptions, experiences, and preventive interventions.MethodsWe performed a scoping review following the framework provided by Arksey and O'Malley. We searched MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL, PsycINFO via Ovid, and Cochrane Library. Additionally, we performed free web searching using Google Scholar and checked relevant reviews. Two reviewers independently selected studies. We narratively synthesised the results.ResultsOut of 3876 references retrieved by our search, we included 46 studies in 47 reports. The prevalence rates of abuse varied widely, ranging from 0 to 93% depending on the type of abuse. Associated factors of abuse at the staff, resident, and nursing home level were evaluated inconsistently. Abuse was perceived ambiguous: even though it was considered unacceptable, it was underreported. We found only four studies addressing preventive interventions. Of these, four made recommendations for intervention development. Only one study with an experimental design examined a multi-component intervention including education and mutual support.ConclusionsThe review yielded heterogenous evidence not allowing a concrete conclusion on prevalence and associated factors. However, the results show the significance of the problem and indicate that there are associate factors of abuse that can be influenced by appropriate interventions. These are amongst other staff education, organisational culture, and conditions. Further research should investigate the composition and content of preventive interventions and their potential to reduce abusive behaviours.
Project description:ObjectivesTo examine whether facility-reported staff shortages and total staff levels were independently associated with changes in nursing home (NH) outcomes in 2020.DesignLongitudinal cohort study.Setting and participantsA total of 8466 NHs with staffing and outcome data.MethodsThis study used NH COVID-19 Public File (2020), Nursing Home Compare (2019-2020), and Payroll-Based Journal data (2019-2020). Outcome measures included the percentage of long-stay residents in a facility with declines in activities in daily living (ADLs), decreases in mobility, weight loss, and pressure ulcers in 2020 Q2, 2020 Q3, and 2020 Q4. Independent variables were whether NHs reported any shortage of aides or licensed nurses and total staff hours per resident day (HPRD). Separate 2-level (NH, state) Hierarchical Generalized Linear Mixed models examined the association of facility-reported shortages and staff hours with key NH resident outcomes, controlling for NH characteristics and COVID-19 infections.ResultsThe weekly percentage of NHs reporting any staff shortage averaged 20%. Total staff HPRD increased slightly from 3.7 in 2019 to 3.8 in 2020. Health outcomes were stable during 2019 and 2020 Q1 but worsened substantially starting in 2020 Q2. For example, the percentage of residents with mobility loss increased from 16.2% in 2020 Q1 to 27.9% in 2020 Q4. Facility-reported staff shortages were associated with an increase in the proportion of residents with an ADL decline (0.54 percentage points), mobility loss (0.80 percentage points), weight loss (0.22 percentage points), and pressure ulcers (0.22 percentage points) (all P < .01). Total staff HPRD was not associated with changes in any outcomes (all P > .05).Conclusions and implicationsNHs reported worsened health outcomes among long-stay residents in 2020, with worse outcomes found among facilities that reported staff shortages but not among those with lower total staff levels. Facility-reported shortages provide important quality information during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Project description:ObjectiveTo describe the association between nursing home staff turnover and the presence and scope of infection control citations.Data sourcesSecondary data for all US nursing homes between March 31, 2017, through December 31, 2019 were obtained from Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ), Nursing Home Compare, and Long-Term Care: Facts on Care in the US (LTC Focus).Study designWe estimated the association between nurse turnover and the probability of an infection control citation and the scope of the citation while controlling for nursing home fixed effects. Our turnover measure is the percent of the facility's nursing staff hours that were provided by new staff (less than 60 days of experience in the last 180 days) during the 2 weeks prior to the health inspection. We calculated turnover for all staff together and separately for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and certified nursing assistants.Data collection/extraction methodsWe linked nursing homes standard inspection surveys to 650 million shifts from the PBJ data. We excluded any nursing home with incomplete or missing staffing data. Our final analytic sample included 12,550 nursing homes with 30,536 surveys.Principal findingsStaff turnover was associated with an increased likelihood of an infection control citation (average marginal effect [AME] = 0.12 percentage points [pp]; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.05, 0.18). LPN (AME = 0.06 pp; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.11) turnover was conditionally associated with an infection control citation. Conditional on having at least an isolated citation for infection control, staff turnover was positively associated with receiving a citation coded as a "pattern" (AME = 0.21 pp; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.32). Conditional of having at least a pattern citation, staff turnover was positively associated with receiving a widespread citation (AME = 0.21 pp; 95% CI: 0.10, 0.32).ConclusionsTurnover was positively associated with the probability of an infection control citation. Staff turnover should be considered an important factor related to the spread of infections within nursing homes.
Project description:Nursing homes (NHs) have long struggled with nurse shortages, leading to a greater reliance on agency nurses. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of NH ownership on agency nurse utilization. Data were derived from multiple sources, including the Payroll-Based Journal and NH Five-Star Facility Quality Reporting System (n: 38,550 years: 2020-2022). A 2-part logistic regression model with 2-way fixed effects (state and year) was used to assess the association of ownership and agency nurse utilization. Model 1 compared facilities with and without agency nurse use, while Model 2 focused on NHs using agency nurses, examining high utilization (top 10%). The dependent variables were agency nurse utilization ratios for registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and certified nursing assistants (CNAs). The primary independent variable was ownership/chain affiliation: for-profit chain (FPC), for-profit independent (FPI), not-for-profit chain (NFPC), and not-for-profit independent (NFPI). Model 1 showed that NFPC facilities had higher odds of using agency RNs (OR = 1.65), LPNs (OR = 1.53), and CNAs (OR = 1.38) compared to NFPI facilities (all P < .001), while FPC facilities also had increased odds for RNs (OR = 1.43), LPNs (OR = 1.30), and CNAs (OR = 1.15) (all P < .001). Model 2 indicated that NFPC, FPC, and FPI facilities were more likely to be high utilizers (top 10%) of agency nurses, with NFPC facilities having the highest odds across all categories. Pairwise comparisons showed that NFPC had the highest utilization of agency RNs and LPNs compared to other ownership groups. These results highlight the significant impact of NH ownership on staffing practices, suggesting that ownership type influences agency nurse utilization.
Project description:ObjectivesWe examined the relationship between nursing assistant (NA) retention and a measure capturing nursing home leadership and staff empowerment.DesignCross-sectional study using nationally representative survey data.Setting and participantsData from the Nursing Home Culture Change 2016-2017 Survey with nursing home administrator respondents (N = 1386) were merged with facility-level indicators.MethodsThe leadership and staff empowerment practice score is an index derived from responses to 23 survey items and categorized as low, medium, and high. Multinomial logistic regression weighted for sample design and to address culture-change selection bias identified factors associated with 4 categories of 1-year NA retention: 0% to 50%, 51% to 75%, 76% to 90%, and 91% to 100%.ResultsIn an adjusted model, greater leadership and staff empowerment levels were consistently associated with high (76%-90% and 91%-100%) relative to low (0%-50%) NA retention. Occupancy rate, chain status, licensed practical nurse and certified nursing assistant hours per day per resident, nursing home administrator turnover, and the presence of a union were also significantly associated with higher categories of retention (vs low retention).Conclusions and implicationsModifiable leadership and staff empowerment practices are associated with NA retention. Associations are most significant when examining the highest practice scores and retention categories. Nursing homes seeking to improve NA retention might look to leadership and staff empowerment practice changes common to culture change.